Harry Potter and The Extra
by Mainara Altia
Summary: What would happen if Harry Potter wasn't the only one left on the door step? What if he and Sirius Blacks daughter was left on that doorstep as well? Did I forget to mention she's more than one half-blood?
1. Chapter 1

**An: This is the prologue and I have changed a few things, like my character I added, but please enjoy. **

Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense. Mr. Dursley was the director of a firm called Grunnings, which made drills. He was a large, beefy man with hardly any neck, although he did have a very large moustache.

Mrs. Dursley was quite the opposite, she was thin and blonde and had nearly twice the usual amount of neck, which came in very useful as she spent so much of her time craning over garden fences, spying on the neighbors. The Dursleys had a small son called Dudley and in their opinion there was no finer boy anywhere. The Dursleys had everything they wanted, but they also had a secret, and their greatest fear was that somebody would discover it.

They didn't think they could bear it if anyone found about the Potters. Mrs. Potter was Mrs. Dursleys sister, but they hadn't met for several years; in fact, Mrs. Dursley pretended she didn't have a sister, because her sister and her good for nothing husband were unDursleyish as it was possible to be. The Dursleys shuddered to think what the neighbors would say if the Potters arrived in the street. They Dursleys knew that the Potters had a small son, too, but they had never even seen him. This boy was another good reason for keeping the Potters away; they didn't want Dudley mixing with a child like that.

When Mr. and Mrs. Dursley woke up on a dull, grey Tuesday our story starts, there was nothing about the clouds outside to suggest that strange and mysterious things would be happening all over the country. Mr. Dursley hummed as he picked out the most boring tie for work and Mrs. Dursley gossiped away happily as she wrestled a screaming Dudley into his high chair. None of them noticed a large, barn owl flutter past the window. At half past eight, Mr. Dursley picked up his briefcase, pecked Mrs. Dursley on the cheek and tried to kiss Dudley good-bye but missed because Dudley was having a tantrum and throwing his cereal at the walls.

" Little tyke," chortled Mr. Dursley as he left the house.

He got into his car and backed out of number four's drive. It was on the corner of the street that he noticed the first sign of something peculiar-a cat reading a map. For a second , Mr. Dursley didn't realize what he had seen- then he jerked his head around to look again. There was tabby cat standing on the corner of Privet Drive, but there wasn't a map in sight. What could he have thought of? It had been a trick of the light. Mr. Dursley blinked and stared at the cat, it stared back. Mr. Dursley drove around the corner and up the road, he watched the cat in the rear view mirror.

It was now reading the sign that said Privet Drive-no, looking at the sign; cats couldn't read maps or signs. Mr. Dursley gave himself a little shake and put the cat out if his mind. As he drove toward town he thought of nothing except a large order of drills he was hoping to get that day. But on the edge of town, drills were driven out of his mind by something else. As he sat in the usual morning traffic jam, he couldn't help but noticed that there seemed to be a lot of strangely dressed people. People in cloaks. Mr. Dursley couldn't bear people who dresses in funny clothes- the get up you saw on young people! He supposed this was some stupid new fashion. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and his eyes fell on a huddle of weirdoes standing quite close by.

They were whispering excitedly together. Mr. Dursley was enraged to see that a couple of them weren't young at all; why, that man had to be older than he was, and wearing an emerald -green cloak! The nerve of him? But then it struck Mr. Dursley that this was probably some silly stunt, these people were obliviously collecting for something...yes, that would be it. The traffic moved on and a few minutes later, Mr. Dursley arrived in the Grunnings parking lot, his mind back on drills.

Mr. Dursley always sat with his back to the window in his office on the ninth floor. If he hadn't he might have found it harder to concentrate on drills that morning. He didn't see the owls swooping past in broad daylight, though people down in the street did; they pointed and gazed, wide-eyed as owl after owl sped overhead. Most had never seen an owl even at night-time. Mr. Dursley however, had a perfectly normal, owl free morning.

He yelled at five different people. He made several important telephone calls and shouted a bit more. He was in a very good mood until lunchtime, when he thought he'd stretch his legs and walked across the road to by himself a bun from the bakery. He'd forgotten all about the people in cloaks until he passed a group of them next to the baker's. He eyed them angrily as he passes. He didn't know why, but they made him uneasy. These bunches were whispering excitedly, too, and he couldn't see a single colleting tin. It was on his way back past them, clutching a large doughnut in a bag, that he caught a few words of what they were saying.

" The Potters, that's right, that's what I heard-"

" - Yes their son Harry -"

Mr. Dursley stopped dead. Fear flooded him. He looked back at the whispering as it he wanted to say something to them, but thought better of it. He dashed back across the road, hurried up to his office, snapped at his secretary not to disturb him, seized his telephone and had almost finished dialing his home number. When he changed his mind He put the receiver back down and stroked his moustache, thinking...no, he was being stupid.

Potter wasn't such an unusual name. He was sure there were lots of people called Potter who had a son named Harry. Come to think of it, he wasn't even sure his nephew was called Harry. He'd never even seen the boy. It might have been called Harvey or Harold. There was no point in worrying Mrs. Dursley; she always got so upset at any mention of her sister. HE didn't blame her- if He'd had a sister like that...but all the same, those people in cloaks...He found it harder to concentrate on drills that afternoon and when he left the building at five o' clock, he was still so worried that he walked straight into someone just outside the door.

"Sorry," he grunted, as the tiny old man stumbled and almost fell.

It was a few seconds before Mr. Dursley realized that the man was wearing a violet cloak. He didn't seem all upset at being almost knocked to the ground. On the contrary, his face split into a wide smile and said in a high octave squeaky voice that made passers-by stare,

"Don't be sorry my dear sir, for nothing could upset me today! Rejoice, for You-Know-Who has gone at last! even Muggles like yourself should be celebrating, this happy, happy day!"

And the old man hugged Mr. Dursley around the middle and walked off. Mr. Dursley stood frozen on the spot. He had been hugged by a complete stranger and thought he had been called a muggle, whatever that is. He was rattled. He hurried to his car and set off home, hoping he was imagining things, which he had never hoped before, because he didn't approve of imagination. As he pulled into the driveway of number four, the first thing he saw and didn't improve his mood was the tabby cat he'd spotted that morning. It was now sitting on his garden wall. He was sure it was the same one; it had the same markings around its eyes.

"Shoo!" said Mr. Dursley loudly.

The cat didn't move. It just gave him a stern look. Was this normal behavior? Mr. Dursley wondered. Trying to pull himself together, he let himself into the house. He was still determined not to mention anything to his wife. Mrs. Dursley had a nice, normal day. she told him over dinner all about Mrs. Next Door's problem with her daughter and how Dudley learned a new word,(" won't"). Mr. Dursley tried to act normal when Dudley had been put to bed, he went into the living room in to catch the last report on the evening news!

**" And finally, bird watchers everywhere have reported that the nations owls have behaved very unusually today. Although owls normally** **hunt at night and are hardly ever seen through daylight, there have been hundreds of sightings of these birds flying in every direction since sunrise. Experts are unable to explain why the owls have suddenly changed their sleeping pattern." The news caster allowed himself to grin. " And now over to Jim McGriffen with the weather. Going to be any more owls showers tonight, Jim?**

**" Well Ted," said the weatherman. " I don't know about that, but it' not only owls that have acted oddly today. Viewers as far apart as Kent, Yorkshire, and Dundee have phoned in to tell me that instead if rain I promised yesterday, they've had a downpour of shooting stars! Perhaps people have celebrated Bunfire Night early-it's not until next week, folks! But I can promise a wet night tonight."**

Mr. Dursley sat frozen in his armchair. Shooting stars all over Britain? Owls flying in daylight? Mysterious people in cloaks all over the place? And a whisper about the Potters. Mrs. Dursley came into the living room carrying two cups of tea. It was no good. He'd have to say something to her. He cleared his throat nervously.

"Err-Petunia, dear-you haven't heard from your sister lately, have you?" As he expected Mrs. Dursley looked shocked and angry. After all, they normally pretended she didn't have a sister.

" No," she said sharply. "Why?"

" Funny stuff on the news." Mr. Dursley mumbled. " Owls...shooting stars...and there were a lot of funny looking people in town today..."

"So?" snapped Mrs. Dursley.

"Well, I just thought...maybe...it was something to do with...you...know...her crowd."

Mrs. Dursley sipped her tea through pursed lips. Mr. Dursley wondered whether he dared to tell her he'd heard the name 'Potter'. He decided he didn't dare to. Instead he said, as casually as he could,

" Their son-he'd be about Dudley's age now, wouldn't he?"

" I supposed so." said Mrs. Dursley stiffly.

" What's his name again? Howard isn't it?"

" Harry . Nasty common name if you asked me."

" Oh yes." said Mr. Dursley his heart sinking horribly." Yes, I quite agree." He didn't say another word on the subject as they went upstairs to bed.

While Mrs. Dursley was in the bathroom, Mr. Dursley crept to the bedroom window and peered down into the front garden. The cat was still there. It was staring down Privet Drive as though it were waiting for something. was he imagining things? Could all this have anything to do with the Potters? If it did...it fit got out they were related to a pair of-well, he didn't think he could bear it. The Dursleys got into bed. Mrs. Dursley feel asleep quickly but Mr. Dursley laid awake, turning it over his mind. His last comforting thought before he fell asleep was that even if the Potters were involved, there was no reason for them to come near him and Mrs. Dursley.

The Potters knew very well what he and Petunia thought about them and their kind...He couldn't see how he and Petunia could get mixed up in anything that might be going on-he yawned and turned over- it couldn't affect them.

_How very wrong he was._

Mr. Dursley might have drifted into an uneasy sleep, but the cat on the wall outside was showing no sign of sleepiness. It was sitting as still as a statue, it's eyes fixed unblinkingly on the corner of Privet Drive. It didn't move when a car door slammed, nor when two owls swopped overhead in fact it was nearly midnight before the cat moved at all.

A man appeared on the corner the cat had watched, appeared so suddenly and silently you'd have thought he'd just popped out of the ground. The cat's tail twitched and it's eyes narrowed. Nothing like this man had ever been seen on Privet Drive. He was lanky and very old. Judging by the silver of his hair and beard, which were both long enough to tuck into his belt. He was wearing long robes, a purple cloak that swept the ground. And high-heeled buckled boots. His light blue eyes were bright, and sparkling with life behind half-moon spectacles and his nose was very long and crooked as though it's been broken multiple times. This man's name was Albus Dumbledore. Albus Dumbledore didn't seem to realize that he had just arrived in a street where everything from his name to his boots were unwelcomed.  
He was busy rummaging in his cloak, looking for something. But he did seem to realize he was being watched because he looked suddenly at the cat, which was still staring at him for some reason. The sight of the cat seemed to amuse him. He gave a light chuckle and muttered,

"I should have known."  
He found what he was looking for in his inside pocket. It seemed to be a silver cigarette lighter. He flicked it open, held it up in the air and clicked it. The nearest street lamp went out with a pop. He clicked it again and again and exactly twelve went out, all but two lights were put out with his put-outer.

The eyes of the cat were watching him. If anyone looked out of their window now, even beady eyed Mrs. Dursley, they wouldn't be able to see anything that was happening down on the pavement. Dumbledore slipped the put-outer back inside his cloak and set off down the street toward number four, where he sat down on the wall next to the cat. He didn't look at it, but after a moment he spoke up,  
"Fancy seeing you here, Professor McGonagall." He turned to smile at the tabby, but it was gone.

Instead he was smiling at a rather severe looking women who was wearing square glasses exactly the shape of the marking the cat had around its eyes. She too, was wearing a cloak, an emerald one. Her black hair was drawn into a tight bun. She looked distinctly ruffled.

"How did you know it was me?" she asked.

"My dear Professor, I've never seen a cat sit so stiffly."

"You'd be stiff if you had sat on a brick wall all day," said Professor McGonagall.

" All day? When you could have celebrated? I must have passed a dozen feasts and parties on my way here."

Professor McGonagall sniffed angrily. "Oh yes, everyone's celebrating all right," she said impatiently. " You'd think they'd be a bit more careful, but no, even the muggles have noticed something's been going on. It was on their news." She jerked her head back at the Dursleys dark living room window. "I heard it. Flocks of owls...shooting stars...well, they're not completely stupid. They were bound to noticed somebody. Shooting stars down in Kent-I'll bet that was Dedalus Diggle. He never made much sense."

"You can't blame them," said Dumbledore gently. "We've had precious little to celebrate for eleven years."

" I know that." Said Professor McGonagall irritably. " Both that's no reason to lose are heads. People are being downright careless, out on the street in broad daylight, not even dressed in muggle clothes, swapping rumors." She threw a sharp, sideways glance at Dumbledore here, as though hoping he was going to tell her something, but didn't, so she went on. " A fine thing it would be if on this very day You-Know-Who seems to have disappeared at last. The muggles found out about us all. I suppose he really is gone, Dumbledore?"

"It certainly seems so," said Dumbledore. "We have much to be thankful for. Would you care for a lemon drop?"

"A what?"

"A lemon drop. They're a kind of muggle sweet I'm rather fond of."

"No thank you." Said Professor McGonagall coldly, as though she didn't this way the moment for lemon drops.

"As I say if You-Know-Who is gone"

"My dear Professor, surely a sensible person like yourself can call himself by his name? All this 'You-Know-who' nonsense-for eleven years. I have tried to persuade people to call him by his proper name: Voldemort."

Professor McGonagall flinched, but Dumbledore didn't seem too notice.

"It's all confusing if we keep saying 'You-Know-Who' I have never seen any reason to be frightened of saying Voldermort's name?"

"I know you haven't," said Professor McGonagall, sounding half-exasperated, half-admiring.

"But you're different. Everyone knows you're the only one You-Know-oh, all right, Voldemort, was frightened of."

"You flatter me," said Dumbledore calmly "Voldemort had power I will never have."

"Only because you're too-well-noble to use them."

"It's lucky it's dark . I haven't blushed so much since Madam Profrey told me she liked my new earmuffs."

It seemed that Professor McGonagall had reached the point she was most anxious to discuss, the real reason she had waited on a cold, hard wall all day. For neither as a cat nor as a women had she fixed Dumbledore with a piercing stare as she did now. It was plain that whatever 'everyone' was saying, she was not going to believe it until Dumbledore told her it was true. Dumbledore, however was choosing another lemon drop and did not answer.

" What they're saying." she pressed on, "is that last night Voldemort turned up in Godric's Hollow. He went to find the Potters. The rumor is that Lily and James Potter are-are-that their dead."

Dumbledore bowed his head.

Professor McGonagall gasped. " Lily and James...I can't believe it...I didn't want to believe...oh Albus..."

Dumbledore reached out and patted her on the shoulder. " I know...I know..." He said heavily.

Professor McGonagall's voice trembled as she went on. "That's not all, Lily and James were babysitting Sirius Blacks daughter and they're saying he tried to kill them. But he couldn't. He couldn't kill Harry Potter or Selena Black, Voldemorts power somehow broke-and that's why he's gone."

Dumbledore nodded glumly.

"It's-it's true?" faltered Professor McGonagall.

"After all he's done...all the people he's killed...he couldn't kill them. It's just astounding...of all the things to stop him...but how in the name of heaven did Selena and Harry survive?"

"We can only guess." Said Dumbledore. "We may never know."

Professor McGonagall pulled out a lace handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes beneath her spectacles. Dumbledore gave a great sniff as he took a golden watch from his pocket and examined it. It had twelve hands, but no numbers; instead, little planets were moving around the edge. It must have made sense to Dumbledore, though because he put it back and said,

"Hagrid's late. I suppose it was he who told you I'd be near by the way?"

"Yes." said Professor McGonagall. "And I don't suppose you're here, of all places?"

"I've come bring Harry to his aunt and uncle and Selena with Harry because all the Blacks are in Azkaban, sense it's their only family left."

" You don't mean-you can't mean the people who live here?" Cried Professor McGonagall, jumping on to her feet and pointing to number four. "Dumbledore-you can't. I've watched them all day. You couldn't find two people who are less like us. And they got this son-I saw him kicking his mother all the street, screaming for sweets. Selena Black and Harry Potter come and live here!"

"It's the best place for them," said Dumbledore firmly. "His aunt and uncle will be able to explain everything to them when their older. I've written them two letters."

"Letters?" repeated Professor McGonagall faintly, sitting back down on the wall. " Really Dumbledore, you think you can explain all this in a two letters? These people will never understand them! They'll be famous-legends-I wouldn't be surprised if today was known as Selena Black and Harry Potter day in the future-Every child in our world would know their names."

"Exactly," said Dumbledore, looking very seriously over the top of his half-moon glasses. "It would be enough to turn any Childs head. Famous before they can walk and talk. Famous for something they won't even remember! Can't you see how much better off if they'll grow up away from that till they're ready?"

Professor McGonagall opened her mouth, changed her mind and swallowed and then said, "yes-yes, you're right, of course. But how are they getting here?" She eyed his cloak suddenly as though he might be hiding Selena and Harry underneath it.

"Hagrid's bringing them."

"You think it was wise to trust Hagrid with something as important as this?"

"I would trust Hagrid with my life." said Dumbledore.

"I'm not saying his heart isn't in the right place." said Professor McGonagall grudgingly, "but you can't pretend he's not careless. He does tend to-what was that?"

A low rumbling sound had broken the silence around them. It grew steadily louder as they looked up and down the street for some sign of a headlight; it swelled to a roar as they both looked up at the sky-and a huge motorcycle fell out of the air and landed on the road in front of them. If the motorcycle was huge, it was nothing to the man sitting astride it.

He was twice as tall as a normal person and at least five times as wide. He looked simply too big to be allowed and so wild-long tangles of bushy black hair and beard hid most of his face, he had hands the size of trash can lids, and his feet in their leather boots were like baby dolphins. In his vast, muscular arms he was holding two bundles of blankets.

"Hagrid," said Dumbledore, sounding relieved. " At last. And where did you get that motorcycle?"

"Borrowed it, Professor Dumbledore sir," said the giant, climbing carefully off the motorcycle.

"No problem was there?"

" No, sir-house was almost destroyed, nut I got them out all right before the muggles started swarmin' around. They fell asleep as we were flown 'in over Bristol."

Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall bent forward over the bundles of blankets. Inside each were one with a baby boy, fast asleep. Under a tuft of jet black hair over his forehead they could see a curiously shaped cut, like a lightning bolt. In the other was a fast asleep baby girl with a bit of blonde hair and a crescent moon cut on her wrist.

"Is that where-?" Whispered Professor McGonagall.

"Yes," said Dumbledore. "They will both have these scars forever.

"Couldn't you do something Dumbledore?"

"Even if I could, I wouldn't. Scars can come in handy. I have one above my left knee that's a perfect map of London underground. Well-give them here, Hagrid- we'd better get this over with." Dumbledore took Harry and Selena in his arms and turned toward the Dursleys house.

"Could I-Could I say good-bye to them, sir?" asked Hagrid. He bent his great shaggy head harry and Selena and gave them both a scratchy, whiskery kiss. Then suddenly, Hagrid let out a howl like a wounded dog.

"Shh"!" Hissed Professor McGonagall, "You'll wake up the muggles!"

"S-s-sorry," sobbed Hagrid, taking out a large spotted handkerchief and burying his face in it. "But I c-c-can't stand it- Lily and James dead-Sirius in Azkaban and poor Harry and Selena are off ter live with muggles-"

"Yes, yes, it's all very sad, but get a grip on yourself Hagrid or we'll be found." Professor McGonagall whispered, patting Hagrid on the back as Dumbledore stepped over the low garden wall and walked to the front door.

He laid Harry and Selena gently on the doorstep, took the letters out of his cloak, tucked them inside Harry's and Selena's blankets and then came back to the other two. Full minute the three of them stood and looked at the little bundles; Hagrid shoulders shook, Professor McGonagall blinked furiously, and the twinkling light in Dumbledore's eyes seemed to have gone out.

"Well," said Dumbledore finally, "that's, that, we've no business staying here, we may as well go and join the celebration."

"Yeah;" said Hagrid in a very muffled voice. "I'll be goin', G'night." wiping his streaming eyes on his jacket sleeve, Hagrid swung himself onto the motorcycle and kicked the engine into life, with a roar into the air and off into the night.

"I shall see you soon, I expect, Professor McGonagall." Said Dumbledore, nodding her.

McGonagall blew her nose in reply. Dumbledore turned and walked back down the street, on the corner he stopped and took out the silver pot-outer. He clicked it once and twelve balls of light sped back to their street lamps. Privet Drive glowed suddenly orange he could make out a tabby cat slinking around the corner at the other end of the street. He could just see the bundles of blankets on the step of number four.

"Good luck, Harry, Selena." he murmured. He turned on his heel and with a swish of his cloak, he was gone.

A breeze ruffled the neat hedges of Privet Drive, which lay silent and tidy under the inky sky, the very last place you would expect astonishing thing to happen. Harry Potter and Selena Black both rolled over inside their blankets both their hands closed on the letters. Not knowing they were special, not knowing they were famous. Not knowing they would be woken in a few hour's time by Mrs. Dursley scream as she opened the front door to put out milk bottles, nor they would spend the next few weeks being poked and pinched by Dudley...They wouldn't know that at this very moment people meeting in secret all over the country were holding their glasses and saying in hushed voices.

"To Harry Potter and Selena Black the boy and girl who lived!"

**An: Did you like it? Should I continue? And please excuse the grammar mistakes. **


	2. Chapter 2

THE VANISHING GLASS

**An: Yay The next chapter enjoy!**

Nearly ten years had passed since the Dursleys had woken up to find their nephew and his 'cousin' on the front step, but Privet Drive had hardly changed at all. The sun rose on the same tidy front gardens and lit up the brass number four on the Dursleys' front door; it crept into their living room, which was almost exactly the same as it had been on the night when Mr. Dursley had seen that fateful news report about the owls. Only the photographs on the mantelpiece really showed how much time had passed. Ten years ago, there had been lots of pictures of what looked like a large pink beach ball wearing different-colored bonnets - but Dudley Dursley was no longer a baby, and now the photographs showed a large blond boy riding his first bicycle, on a carousel at the fair, playing a computer game with his father, being hugged and kissed by his mother. The room held no sign at all that anyone else lived in the house, too.

Yet Harry Potter and Selena Black were still there, asleep at the moment, but not for long. Aunt Petunia was awake and it was her shrill voice that made the first noise of the day.

"Up! Get up! Now!"

Harry and Selena both woke with a start,.

"Shut up you horse boned women." Selena said groggily by woken up by her. Harry's aunt rapped on the door again angrily .

"Up!" she screeched. Selena heard her walking toward the kitchen and then the sound of the frying pan being put on the stove. they both rolled onto their backs and Harry was trying to remember the dream he had been having. It had been a good one. There had been a flying motorcycle in it. He had a funny feeling he'd had the same dream before.

His aunt was back outside the door.

"Are you two up?" she demanded.

"Nearly," said Harry.

"Nope," Said Selena.

"Well, get a move on, I want you two to look after the bacon. And don't you two dare let it burn, I want everything perfect on Duddy's birthday."

Harry groaned.

"You suck." Selena said being childish.

"What did you say?" Harry's aunt snapped through the door.

"I said-" Harry stop Selena from getting into more trouble than she already is.

"Nothing, nothing..."

Dudley's birthday - how could they have forgotten? Harry got slowly out of bed and started looking for socks. He found a pair under his bed and, after pulling a spider off one of them, put them on. Harry was used to spiders, because the cupboard under the stairs was full of them, and that was where he slept. While Selena may have slept with Harry under the cupboard, she was completely terrified of them. Selena as lazy as she was got up barefoot, not even bothering to look for socks.

When they were dressed they went down the hall into the kitchen. The table was almost hidden beneath all Dudley's birthday presents. It looked as though Dudley had gotten the new computer he wanted, not to mention the second television and the racing bike. Exactly why Dudley wanted a racing bike was a mystery to Selena and Harry, as Dudley was very fat and hated exercise - unless of course it involved punching somebody. Dudley's favorite punching bags were Selena and Harry, but he couldn't often catch them.

Perhaps it had something to do with living in a dark cupboard, but Harry had always been small and skinny for his age. He looked even smaller and skinnier than he really was because all he had to wear were old clothes of Dudley's, and Dudley was about four times bigger than he was. Selena was really skinny and she wore aunt Petunia's cloths. Harry had a thin face, knobbly knees, black hair, and bright green eyes. Selena had blonde hair and grey eyes with silver flecks. He wore round glasses held together with a lot of Scotch tape because of all the times Dudley had punched him on the nose, Selena got back at Dudley by pulling a prank on him. The only thing Selena liked about her own appearance was a very thin scar on her wrist that was shaped like a crescent moon, very different to Harry's scar on his forehead shaped like a lightning bolt.

They had them as long as they could remember, and the first question Selena could ever remember asking Petunia was how they had gotten it.

"In the car crash where both of your parents died," she had said. "And don't ask questions."

Don't ask questions - that was the first rule for a quiet life with the Dursleys.

Uncle Vernon entered the kitchen as Harry was turning over the bacon, and Selena was cooking eggs.

"Comb your hair!" he barked, by way of a morning greeting.

About once a week, Uncle Vernon looked over the top of his newspaper and shouted that Harry and Selena needed haircuts. Harry must have had more haircuts than the rest of the boys in his class put-

together, but it made no difference, his hair simply grew that way - all over the place. Selena had more haircuts than the rest of the girls in the whole school!

Selena was done frying eggs by the time Dudley arrived in the kitchen with his mother. Dudley looked a lot like Uncle Vernon. He had a large pink face, not much neck, small, watery blue eyes, and thick blond hair that lay smoothly on his thick, fat head. Aunt Petunia often said that Dudley looked like a baby angel - Harry often said to Selena one day that Dudley looked like a pig in a wig.

Harry and Selena put the plates of egg and bacon on the table, which was difficult as there wasn't much room. Dudley, meanwhile, was counting his presents. His face fell.

"Thirty-six," he said, looking up at his mother and father. "That's two less than last year."

"Darling, you haven't counted Auntie Marge's present, see, it's here under this big one from Mommy and Daddy."

"All right, thirty-seven then," said Dudley, going red in the face. Harry, who could see a huge Dudley tantrum coming on, and warned Selena as they both began wolfing down their bacon as fast as possible in case Dudley turned the table over.

Aunt Petunia obviously scented danger, too, because she said quickly, "And we'll buy you another two presents while we're out today. How's that, popkin? Two more presents. Is that all right''

"Spoiled brat." Selena muttered. Harry elbowed her, even though he couldn't help but agree with her.

Dudley thought for a moment. It looked like hard work. Finally he said slowly, "So I'll have thirty ... thirty..."

"Thirty-nine, sweetums," said Aunt Petunia.

"He can't even count Harry." She whispered in his ear. Harry gave a light chuckle.

"Oh." Dudley sat down heavily and grabbed the nearest parcel. "All right then."

Uncle Vernon chuckled. "Little tyke wants his money's worth, just like his father. 'Atta boy, Dudley!" He ruffled Dudley's hair.

At that moment the telephone rang and Aunt Petunia went to answer it while Selena, Harry, and Uncle Vernon watched Dudley unwrap the racing bike, a video camera, a remote control airplane, sixteen new computer games, and a VCR. He was ripping the paper off a gold wristwatch when Aunt Petunia came back from the telephone looking both angry and worried.

"Bad news, Vernon," she said. "Mrs. Figg's broke her leg. She can't take them." She jerked her head in Harry's and Selena's direction.

"Were still here you-" Before Selena could finish her sentence, Harry put his hand over her mouth.

Dudley's mouth fell open in horror, but Harry's heart gave a leap and Selena had a psychotic grin on her face. Every year on Dudley's birthday, his parents took him and a friend out for the day, to adventure parks, hamburger restaurants, or the movies. Every year, Harry and Selena were always left behind with Mrs. Figg, a mad old lady who lived two streets away. Selena hated it there. The whole house smelled of cabbage and Mrs. Figg made them look at photographs of all the cats she'd ever owned.

"Now what?" said Aunt Petunia, looking furiously at Harry and cautiously at Selena as though she'd planned this. Harry knew he ought to feel sorry that Mrs. Figg had broken her leg, but it wasn't easy when he reminded himself it would be a whole year before they had to look at Tibbles, Snowy, Mr. Paws, and Tufty again.

"We could phone Marge," Uncle Vernon suggested.

"Don't be silly, Vernon, she hates the them. Epically the girl. "

"The feelings mutual."

The Dursleys often spoke about Harry and Selena like this, as though they weren't there - or rather, as though he was something very nasty that couldn't understand them, like a slug.

"What about what's-her-name, your friend - Yvonne?"

"On vacation in Majorca," snapped Aunt Petunia.

"You could just leave us here," Harry put in hopefully (he'd be able to watch what he wanted on television for a change and maybe even have a go on Dudley's computer).

Aunt Petunia looked as though she'd just swallowed a lemon.

"And come back and find the house in ruins?" she snarled.

"Yes" Selena whispered.

"I won't blow up the house," said Harry, but they weren't listening. _But Selena will_. Harry thought.

"I suppose we could take them to the zoo," said Aunt Petunia slowly, "... and leave them in the car..."

"That car's new, they're not sitting in it alone..."

Dudley began to cry loudly. In fact, he wasn't really crying - it had been years since he'd really cried - but he knew that if he screwed up his face and wailed, his mother would give him anything he wanted.

"Dinky Duddydums, don't cry, Mummy won't let him spoil your special day!" she cried, flinging her arms around him.

"I... don't... want...them... t-t-to come!" Dudley yelled between huge, pretend sobs. "they always sp- spoils everything!" He shot Harry a nasty grin through the gap in his mother's arms.

Just then, the doorbell rang - "Oh, good Lord, they're here!" said Aunt Petunia frantically - and a moment later, Dudley's best friend, Piers Polkiss, walked in with his mother. Piers was a scrawny boy with a face like a rat. He was usually the one who held people's arms behind their backs while Dudley hit them, or he would try to flirt with Selena. Dudley stopped pretending to cry at once.

Half an hour later, Harry, who couldn't believe their luck, sitting in the back of the Dursleys' car with Piers and Dudley, on the way to the zoo for the first time in their young lives. Harry's aunt and uncle hadn't been able to think of anything else to do with them, but before they'd left, Uncle Vernon had taken Harry and Selena aside.

"I'm warning you," he had said, putting his large purple face right up close to Selena's and Harry's, "I'm warning you now, boy - any funny business, anything at all - and you'll be in that cupboard from now until Christmas. And you girl would have a much bigger punishment.

"I'm not going to do anything," said Harry, "honestly..

"I promise Vernon." said Selena.

But Uncle Vernon didn't believe them. No one ever did.

The problem was, strange things often happened around Harry and Selena and it was just no good telling the Dursleys that they didn't make them happen.

Once, Aunt Petunia, tired of Harry coming back from the barbers looking as though he hadn't been at all, had taken a pair of kitchen scissors and cut his hair so short he was almost bald except for his bangs, which she left "to hide that horrible scar." Dudley had laughed himself silly at Harry, who spent a sleepless night imagining school the next day, where he was already laughed at for his baggy clothes and taped glasses. Next morning, however, he had gotten up to find his hair exactly as it had been before Aunt Petunia had sheared it off He had been given a week in his cupboard for this, even though he had tried to explain that he couldn't explain how it had grown back so quickly.

Another time, Aunt Petunia had been trying to force Selena into a revolting old sweater of Dudley's (brown with orange puff balls) - The harder she tried to pull it over her head, the smaller it seemed to become, until finally it might have fitted a hand puppet, but certainly wouldn't fit Selena. Petunia had decided it must have shrunk in the wash and, to her great relief ,Selena wasn't punished.

On the other hand, they'd gotten into terrible trouble for being found on the roof of the school kitchens. Dudley's gang had been chasing them as usual when, as much to Harry's and Selena's surprise as anyone else's, there they was sitting on the chimney. The Dursleys had received a very angry letter from Selena's and Harry's headmistress telling them Harry and Selena had been climbing school buildings. But all they'd tried to do (as they both shouted at Uncle Vernon through the locked door of their cupboard) was jump behind the big trash cans outside the kitchen doors. Harry supposed that the wind must have caught them both in mid- jump.

But today, nothing was going to go wrong. It was even worth being with Dudley and Piers to be spending the day somewhere that wasn't school, their cupboard, or Mrs. Figg's cabbage-smelling living room.

While he drove, Uncle Vernon complained to Aunt Petunia. He liked to complain about things: people at work, Harry, the council, Selena, the bank, Selena, and Harry were just a few of his favorite subjects. This morning, it was motorcycles.

"... roaring along like maniacs, the young hoodlums," he said, as a motorcycle overtook them.

I had a dream about a motorcycle," said Harry, remembering suddenly. "It was flying." It was Selena's turn to hit him with her elbow.

Uncle Vernon nearly crashed into the car in front. He turned right around in his seat and yelled at Harry, his face like a gigantic beet with a mustache: "MOTORCYCLES DON'T FLY!"

Dudley and Piers sniggered.

I know they don't," said Harry. "It was only a dream."

But he wished he hadn't said anything.

If there was one thing the Dursleys hated even more than them asking questions, it was them talking about anything acting in a way it shouldn't, no matter if it was in a dream or even a cartoon - they seemed to think they'll might get dangerous ideas.

It was a very sunny Saturday and the zoo was crowded with families. The Dursleys bought Dudley and Piers large chocolate ice creams at the entrance and then, because the smiling lady in the van had asked Harry and Selena what they both wanted before they could hurry away, they bought two cheap lemon ice pop. It wasn't bad, either, Selena thought, licking it as they watched a gorilla scratching its head who looked remarkably like Dudley, except that it wasn't blond.

Selena had the best morning she'd had in a long time. They were careful to walk a little way apart from the Dursleys so that Dudley and Piers, who were starting to get bored with the animals by lunchtime, wouldn't fall back on their favorite hobby of hitting Harry, or flirting with Selena. They ate in the zoo restaurant, and when Dudley had a tantrum because his knickerbocker glory didn't have enough ice cream on top, Uncle Vernon bought him another one and Harry and Selena were allowed to finish the first.

Harry felt, afterward, that he should have known it was all too good to last.

After lunch they went to the reptile house. It was cool and dark in there, with lit windows all along the walls. Behind the glass, all sorts of lizards and snakes were crawling and slithering over bits of wood and stone. Dudley and Piers wanted to see huge, poisonous cobras and thick, man-crushing pythons. Dudley quickly found the largest snake in the place. It could have wrapped its body twice around Uncle Vernon's car and crushed it into a trash can - but at the moment it didn't look in the mood. In fact, it was fast asleep.

Dudley stood with his nose pressed against the glass, staring at the glistening brown coils.

"Make it move," he whined at his father. Uncle Vernon tapped on the glass, but the snake didn't budge.

"Do it again," Dudley ordered. Uncle Vernon rapped the glass smartly with his knuckles, but the snake just snoozed on.

"This is boring," Dudley moaned. He shuffled away.

Harry and Selena moved in front of the tank and looked intently at the snake. They wouldn't have been surprised if it had died of boredom itself - no company except stupid people drumming their fingers on the glass trying to disturb it all day long. It was worse than having a cupboard as a bedroom, where the only visitor was Petunia hammering on the door to wake you up; at least they got to visit the rest of the house.

The snake suddenly opened its beady eyes. Slowly, very slowly, it raised its head until its eyes were on a level with Selena's and Harry's.

It winked.

Harry stared and Selena stared at it in disbelief. Then they both looked quickly around to see if anyone was watching. They weren't. they looked back at the snake and Selena winked, too.

The snake jerked its head toward Uncle Vernon and Dudley, then raised its eyes to the ceiling. It gave Harry and Selena look that said quite plainly:

"I get that all the time.

"I know," Harry murmured through the glass, though he wasn't sure the snake could hear him. "It must be really annoying." Selena said.

The snake nodded vigorously.

"Where do you come from, anyway?" Harry asked.

The snake jabbed its tail at a little sign next to the glass. Harry peered at it.

Boa Constrictor, Brazil.

"Was it nice there?" Selena questioned.

The boa constrictor jabbed its tail at the sign again and Harry read on: This specimen was bred in the zoo. "Oh, I see - so you've never been to Brazil?"

As the snake shook its head, a deafening shout behind Harry made both of them jump.

"DUDLEY! MR. DURSLEY! COME AND LOOK AT THIS SNAKE! YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT IT'S DOING!"

Dudley came waddling toward them as fast as he could.

"Out of the way, you," he said, punching Harry in the ribs. Caught by surprise, Harry fell hard on the concrete floor. Selena helped him up, while glaring slightly at Dudley. What came next happened so fast no one saw how it happened - one second, Piers and Dudley were leaning right up close to the glass, the next, they had leapt back with howls of horror.

Selena gasped; the glass front of the boa constrictor's tank had vanished. The great snake was uncoiling itself rapidly, slithering out onto the floor. People throughout the reptile house screamed and started running for the exits.

As the snake slid swiftly past the two, Selena could have sworn a low, hissing voice said, "Brazil, here I come... Thanksss, amigos."

"You're welcome." Selena said.

The keeper of the reptile house was in shock.

"But the glass," he kept saying, "where did the glass go?"

The zoo director himself made Aunt Petunia a cup of strong, sweet tea while he apologized over and over again. Piers and Dudley could only gibber. As far as Harry and Selena had seen, the snake hadn't done anything except snap playfully at their heels as it passed, but by the time they were all back in Uncle Vernon's car, Dudley was telling them how it had nearly bitten off his leg, while Piers was swearing it had tried to squeeze him to death. But worst of all, for Harry at least, was Piers calming down enough to say, "Harry and Selena was talking to it, weren't they?"

Uncle Vernon waited until Piers was safely out of the house before starting on Harry. He was so angry he could hardly speak. He managed to say, "Go - cupboard - stay - no meals, and you girl-cupboard-no meals for a week. " before he collapsed into a chair, and Aunt Petunia had to run and get him a large brandy.

Harry and Selena both laded in their dark cupboard much later, wishing Selena had a watch. She didn't know what time it was and she couldn't be sure the Dursleys were asleep yet. Until they were, she couldn't risk sneaking to the kitchen for some food for her and Harry.

They lived with the Dursleys almost ten years, ten miserable years, as long as they could remember, ever since he'd been a baby and his parents had died in that car crash. He couldn't remember being in the car when both of their parents had died. Sometimes, when she strained her memory during long hours in their cupboard, she came up with a strange vision: a blinding flash of green light and a burn- ing pain on her wrist. This, she supposed, was the crash, though she couldn't imagine where all the green light came from. Maybe a stoplight? She couldn't remember her parents at all. Selena wondered if Harry remembered. Harry's aunt and uncle never spoke about any set of parents, and of course they were forbidden to ask questions, but Selena always broke that rule. There were no photographs of them in the house.

When she had been younger, Selena had dreamed and dreamed of some unknown relation coming to take her away, but it had never happened; the Dursleys were their only 'family'. Yet sometimes she thought (or maybe hoped) that strangers in the street seemed to know them or their parents. Very strange strangers they were, too. A tiny man in a violet top hat had bowed to them once while out shopping with Aunt Petunia and Dudley. After asking Harry furiously if he knew the man, Aunt Petunia had rushed them out of the shop without buying anything. A wild-looking old woman dressed all in green had waved merrily at Selena once on a bus. A bald man in a very long purple coat had actually shaken Harry's and Selena's hands in the street the other day and then walked away without a word. The weirdest thing about all these people was the way they seemed to vanish the second Harry or Selena tried to get a closer look. Another wield thing is Selena told Harry that she saw a man with one eye.

At school, Harry and Selena had no one. Everybody knew that Dudley's gang hated that odd Harry Potter and Selena Black in their baggy old clothes, and nobody liked to disagree with Dudley's gang.


	3. Chapter 3

The escape of the Brazilian boa constrictor earned Selena and Harry their most longest punishments. By the time they were allowed out of their cupboard again, summer had finally started-and Dudley had already broken his new video camera, crashed his remote control airplane, and, first time out on his racing bike, knocked down poor old Mrs. Figg as she was crossing Private Drive with her crutches.

Selena was glad that school was over, no getting yelled at from the teachers because of her ADHD and dyslexia. But the downfall was Harry and Selena could not get away from the grasp of Dudley's gang, who visited the house _every_ single day! Piers, Dennis, Malcolm, and Gordon were all big and stupid, but Dudley was the most idiotic person you will ever meet because he was the leader.

They were all quite happy to join Dudley's favorite sport: Freak Hunting.

This is why Selena and Harry spent all their time out side as much as possible, they would go their separate ways. Selena would think if someone could be her savior and save her from that _dreadful_ house. Sometimes hoping the holidays would never end.

When September comes Selena and Harry will be going off to a secondary school and, for the first time in their short lives, they wouldn't be with Dudley. Dudley was accepted at Vernon's old private school, Smeltings. Piers Polkiss was also going there too. Selena and Harry on the other hand were going to Stonewall High, the local public school. Dudley thought this was hilarious.

"They stuff people's head down toilets on the first day at Stonewall," he told Selena and Harry, "want to come upstairs and practice?"

"No thanks," Harry said

"Sorry but the toilet would probably die with your head down the toilet." Selena said before running off with Harry before Dudley could comprehend what she just said.

One day in July, Petunia took Dudley to London to buy him his new Smeltings uniform, leaving Selena and Harry at Mrs. Figg's. Mrs. wasn't as bad as usual. It turned out she happen to trip over one of her many cats and broken her leg. She let Selena and Harry watch television and gave them a bit of her chocolate cake, even though it tasted if it had been stored for thousands of years.

That evening, Dudley paraded around the living room for the family in his brand-new uniform. Smeltings' boys wore maroon tailcoats, orange knickerbockers, and flat straw hats called boaters. They also carried knobbly sticks, used for smacking each other when the teachers weren't looking in their direction. This was supposed to be 'good training' for later in life.

Vernon said gruffly that it was the proudest moment in his life. Petunia burst into tears and said she couldn't believe it was her Ickle-Dudleykins, he looked so 'handsome' and grown-up.

"He looks like a red lifesaver." Selena muttered under her breath. Harry didn't trust himself to reply to Selena's comment without bursting in laughing.

There was distasteful smell in the kitchen the next morning when Selena and Harry went in for breakfast. It seem to be coming from a large metal tub in the sink. Curious as they went to have a look.

The tub was full of what looked like dirty rags swimming in grey dish water.

"What in the name of..."

Harry cut off Selena and asked for her.

"What's this?" Harry asked his Aunt Petunia. Her lips tightened like she was sucking on something sour.

"New school uniforms for the both of you," she said.

They looked at the tub again.

"Oh," Harry said, "I didn't realize it had to be so wet."

"Don't be stupid," snapped Petunia. "I'm dying some of mine and Dudley's old things gray for you and Selena. You will both blend in with the crowd when I'm down.

Selena scrunched up her nose. 'It's official she hates us. I don't want to wear that elephant skin. I would go to school stark naked!" thought Selena.

Dudley and Vernon came in, both with wrinkled noses (like pigs they were)because of the smell from Selena's and Harry's new uniforms. Vernon opened his newspaper as usual and Dudley banged his Smelting stick , which he carried everywhere, on the table.

They heard the click of the mail slot and flop of letters on the doormat.

"Get the mail, Dudley,"

"Make Selena get it."

"Get the mail, Selena."

"Make the pig get it."

"Poke her with your Smelting stick, Dudley."

Selena dodged the Smelting stick and went to get the mail, muttering such bad language no one should hear. four things lay on the doormat: a postcard from Vernon's sister Marge, who was vacationing on the Isle of Wight, a brown envelope that looked like a bill, and- a letter for Selena and Harry.

Selena picked them up and starred at it, her heart beating against her chest. Did someone write to her and Harry? Could we finally be free? They had no other relatives and it wasn't from the library. Yet there are two letters for the both of them. They were both addresses so plainly there could be no error made.

_Ms. S. Black_

_The Cupboard under the Stairs_

_4 Private Drive_

_Little Whinging_

_Surrey_

And for Harry,

_Mr. H. Potter_

_The Cupboard under the Stairs_

_4 Private drive_

_Little Whinging _

_Surrey_

The envelopes were with thick and heavy, made of yellowish parchment, and the address was written in emerald-green ink. There was no stamp on either of them.

Turning one of the envelopes over was a purple was seal bearing a coat of arms; a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake surrounding a large letter H.

"Hurry up, girl!" shouted Vernon from the kitchen. "What are you doing, checking for bombs?" he chuckled at his own joke.

Selena went back to the kitchen and gave Harry his letter, he look up at Selena in disbelief. She handed Vernon the bill and the postcard, they both sat down and slowly began to open the yellow envelope. Vernon ripped open the bill, snorted in disgust, and flipped over the postcard.

"Marge's ill, he informed Petunia. "ate a funny whelk..."

"Dad!" said Dudley suddenly. "Dad, Selena and Harry have something!"

Selena and Harry were both on the point of unfolding their letters, which were written on the same heavy parchment as the envelope, when they were both jerked sharply out of their hands by Vernon.

"_That's mine_!" They said in sync. Trying at their best to snatch them back.

"Who'd be writing to the both of you?" sneered Vernon, shaking the letters open with one hand and glancing at it. His face went from red to green faster than a set of traffic lights. And it didn't finish there. Within seconds it was grayish white of rotten old porridge.

"P-P-Petunia!" he gasped.

Dudley tried to grab the letters to read them, but Vernon held them high out of his reach. Petunia took one curiously and read the first line. For a moment, it looked like she might faint. She clutched her throat and made a chocking noise.

"Vernon! Oh my goodness- Vernon!'

They stared at each other, seeming to forget that Selena, Harry, and Dudley were in the same room as them. Dudley of course wasn't used to being ignored. He gave his father a sharp tap on the head with his smelting stick.

"I want to read the letters!" he said raucously.

"I want to read it," said Harry furiously, "as it's mine."

"I would please like my letter, before I shove my foot up your as-"

Vernon cut her off. "Get out all of you," croaked Vernon, putting the letters back inside their envelopes.

Selena or Harry didn't move a muscle.

"I WANT MY LETTER!" They yelled in sync.

"Let me see it!" Demanded Dudley.

"GET OUT!" Roared Vernon.

He took Selena and Harry by the scruffs of their necks and threw them into the hall and ushered Dudley out, slamming the door behind them all. They were all silently fighting over who would listen through the keyhole and not surprisingly Dudley one while Selena and Harry listened at the crack of the door.

"Vernon," Petunia was saying in a shaky voice, "Look at the address-how could they possibly know where they sleep? You don't think they're spying on us are they?"

'Watching-spying-night be following us," uttered Vernon wildly.

"but what should we do Vernon? Should we write back? Tell them we don't want-"

Selena and Harry could see Vernon's shiny black shoes pacing up and down the kitchen floor.

"No," he said finally. "No, we'll ignore it. If they don't get an answer...Yes that's best...We won't do anything..."

"But-"

"I'm not having two in this house Petunia! Didn't we swear when we took them in we'd stamp out that dangerous nonsense?" That evening, when he got back from work, Vernon did something he'd never done before; he visited Selena's and Harry's cupboard.

'Where's my letter?" said Harry, the moment Vernon had squeezed through the tiny door.

"Who's writing to us?" Selena asked.

"No one. Their addresses were mistaken," said Vernon shortly..

"I have burn them."

Selena yelled " It was not a mistake! It had_ our _cupboard under the stairs."

"Silence!" Screamed Vernon, making a couple spiders fall off the ceiling, thus making Selena scream in fear.

He took a few deep breathes and smiled, it looked like he was in agony.

"Err- yes, Selena, Harry - about the cupboard. Me and Petunia have been thinking you both have gotten too big for it...we think it might be nice if you moved into Dudley's second bedroom."

"Now you're telling us this?" Selena snapped.

"Why?" Questioned Harry.

"Don't ask questions!" Hollered Harry's Uncle. " Take this stuff upstairs, now."

The Dursleys house had four bedrooms:

One for Vernon and Petunia, one for visitors, one where Dudley slept, and the one where Dudley kept all toys and things that wouldn't fit into his first bedroom. It only took Selena and Harry one trip upstairs to move all of their stuff from the cupboard to this room. Selena sat down on the bed and took one giant look around the room. Nearly everything was broken. The month old video camera was lying on the top of a small, working tank Dudley had once driven over the next door neighbor's dog; in the corner was Dudley's first ever television set, which he'd put his foot through when his favorite program was canceled; there was a large birdcage, which had once had a parrot once had and Dudley swapped ay school for an air rifle, which was up on a shelf with the end all bent up from the time he sat on it. The rest of the room was covered in book shelves that Dudley rejected because he despised books. Selena adored them.

From downstairs came the sound of Dudley bawling at his mother, " I don't want them in there...I need that room...make them get out..."

Selena sighed and stretched on the floor while Harry was on the bed. Selena knew she desired to be in this room before she got the strange letter and now she wanted to go back to the tiny little living space.

The next morning at breakfast, everyone was rather quiet. Dudley was in shock. He'd screamed, whacked his father with his Smelting stick, been sick on purpose, kicked his mother, and thrown his tortoise through the greenhouse roof, and he still didn't have his room back. Selena was thinking about the time when she almost opened up the letter in the hall with Harry.

Vernon and Petunia kept looking at each other darkly.

When the mail arrived, Vernon, who seemed to be trying to be nice to Harry and Selena , made Dudley go and get it. They heard him banging things with his Smelting stick all the way down the hallway. Then he shouted, "There are two more! 'Ms. S. Black and Mr. H. Potter, The smallest Bedroom, 4 Private Drive-"

With a strangled cry, Vernon leapt from his seat and ran down the hall, with Selena and Harry right behind him. Vernon had wrestled Dudley to the ground to grab the letters from him.

After a minute of confused fighting, in which everyone got hit by the Smelting stick, Vernon straightened up, gasping for air, with Harry's and Selena's letters clutched in his hand.

"Both of you, to the cupboard- I mean Bedroom," He wheezed at them. " Dudley- go - just leave."

Selena and Harry walked around their new room thinking about how to get their letters and a plan that wouldn't fail.

The repaired alarm clock that Selena fixed, ranged at six o'clock the next morning. Harry turned it off quickly and woke Selena up before getting dressed. They knew they couldn't wake up the Dursleys or its game over for them. They tiptoes downstairs without making a noise.

They waited for the postman on the corner of their street and get the letters for number four first. Selena's heart hammered as they crept across the front hall toward the front door-

"AAAAAAAARRRRHH!

It seemed as Harry stepped on something _alive!_

Lights clicked on upstairs and to Selena's horror realized that Harry stepped on his uncle 's face.

Vernon had been lying at the foot of the front door in a sleeping bag, clearly making sure neither Harry or Selena didn't do what they'd been trying to do. Vernon yelled at the both f them to make him a cup of tea.

Selena and Harry shuffled miserably to the kitchen and by the time they got back, the mail have arrived, right into Vernon's lap. Selena could see six letters addressed in green ink.

"I want-" She began, but Vernon was tearing up the letters into pieces before her eyes.

Vernon didn't go to work that day. He stayed at home and nailed up the mail slot.

"See," He explained to Petunia through a mouthful of nails, "If they can't deliver them they'll just give up."

"I'm not sure that'll work Vernon."

"Oh, these people's minds work in strange ways, Petunia, they're not like you and me," said Vernon trying to knock in a nail with a piece of fruitcake Petunia brought him.

On Friday, no less than twenty four letters arrived for Selena and Harry. As they couldn't go through the mail slot they had been pushed under the door, slotted through the sides, and a few even forced through the small winder in the downstairs bathroom.

Vernon stayed at home again. After burning all the letters, her got put a hammer and nails and boarded up the cracks around the front and back doors so no one could go out. He hummed "Tiptoe through the Tulips" as he worked and jumped at small noises.

On Saturday, things began to get out of hand. forty-eight letters to Selena and Harry found in their way into the house, rolled up and hidden inside each of the two dozen eggs that their very confused milkman had handed Petunia through the living room window. While Vernon made a telephone calls to the post office and dairy trying to find something to complain to, Petunia shredded the letters in the food processor.

"Who on Earth would want to talk to both of you this badly?" Dudley asked them in amazement.

On Sunday morning, Vernon sat down at the breakfast table looking oddly happy.

"No post Sunday's," he reminded them cheerfully almost as if he would explode with happiness.

"No damn letters today-"

Something came whizzing down the chimney as he spoke those words and caught him sharply on the back of the head. Next morning, fifty of sixty letters came pelting out of the fireplace like bullets.

The Dursley's ducked, but Harry and Selena leapt into the air hoping to catch one.

"OUT! OUT!"

Vernon seized Selena and Harry by the waist and threw them into the hall.

When Petunia and Dudley had ran out with their arms over their faces, Vernon slammed the door shut. They could hear the letters still streaming into the room, bouncing off the walls and floor.

"That does it," said Vernon, trying to speak calmly, but failing.

"I want you all back here in five minutes ready to leave. We're going away. Just pack some cloths. No arguments!"

He looked so dangerous with half his mustache missing and no one dared to argue. Ten minutes later they had wrenched their way through the boarded-up doors and were in the car, speeding toward the highway. Dudley was sniffling like a baby because his father hit him round the head for holding them up while he tried to pack his television, VCR, and computer in his sports bag.

They drove. And they drove. Petunia didn't dare ask where they were going. Every now and then Vernon would take a sharp turn and drive in the opposite direction for a little while. "Shake 'em off...shake 'em off," he would mutter whenever he did this.

They didn't stop to eat or drink all day. By nightfall Dudley was howling. He'd never had had such a bad day in his life. He was hungry no starving, he'd missed five television programs he'd wanted to see and he'd never gone do long without a computer in his face.

Vernon stopped at last outside a gloomy-looking hotel on the outskirts of the big city. Dudley, Selena, and Harry shared a room with twin beds and damp, moldy sheets. Dudley snored but Selena and Harry stayed awake, both sitting on the windowsill, staring down at the lights of passing cars.

They ate stale cornflakes and cold tinned tomatoes on toast for breakfast the next day. They had just finished when the owner of the hotel came over to their table. "Excuse me, but is there a Ms. S. Black and Mr. H. Potter? Only I got about two unread on the front desk."

She held up the letters so they could read the green ink addresses.

Ms. S. Black

Room 17

Railview Hotel

Cokeworth

Mr. H. Potter

Room 17

Railview Hotel

Cokeworth

Selena and Harry both made a grab for their letters but Vernon knocked their hands out of the way. The woman stared.

"I'll take them," said Vernon, standing up quickly and following her from the dining room.

"Wouldn't it be better to just go home, dear?" Petunia suggested, hours later, but Vernon didn't seem to hear her. Exactly what he was looking for, none of them knew. He drove them in the middle of a forest, got out, looked around, shook his head, got back into the car, and off they went again. The same thing happened again and again.

"Daddy's gone mad, hasn't he?" Dudley asked Petunia dully late in the afternoon.

"It's Monday," he told his mother. "The Great Humberto's on tonight. I want to stay somewhere with television."

Monday. This reminded Selena of something. If it was Monday – and you could usually count on Dudley to know the days of the week, because of television – then tomorrow, Tuesday, was Harry's eleventh birthday. Of course, his birthday's were never actually fun –last year, the Dursley's had given Harry a coat hanger and a pair of Vernon's old socks. Selena gave Harry a card.

Still, you weren't eleven every day.

Uncle Vernon was back and he was smiling. He was also carrying a long, thin package and didn't answer Petunia when she asked what he'd bought.

"Found the perfect place!" he said. "Come on! Everyone out!"

It was very cold outside the car. Uncle Vernon was pointing at what looked like a large rock way out at sea. Perched on top of the rock was the most miserable little shack you could imagine.

One thing was certain, there was no television in there.

"Storm forecast for tonight!" said Vernon gleefully, clapping his hands together. "And this gentleman's kindly agreed to lend us his boat!"

A toothless old man came ambling up to them, pointing, with a rather wicked grin, at an old rowboat bobbing in the iron-gray water below them.

"I've already got us some rations," said Vernon, "so all aboard!"

It was freezing in the boat. Icy sea spray and rain crept down their necks and a chilly wind whipped their faces. After what seemed like hours they reached the rock, where Vernon, slipping and sliding, led the way to the broken-down house.

The inside was horrible; it smelled strongly of seaweed, the wind whistled through the gaps in the wooden walls, and the fireplace was damp and empty. There were only two rooms.

Vernon's rations turned out to be a bag of chips each and four bananas.

" He tried to start a fire but the empty chip bags just smoked and shriveled up.

"Could do with some of those letters now, eh?" he said cheerfully.

He was in a very good mood. Obviously he thought nobody stood a chance of reaching them here in a storm to deliver mail. Selena privately agreed, though the thought didn't cheer him up at all.

As night fell, the promised storm blew up around them. Spray from the high waves splattered the walls of the hut and a fierce wind rattled the filthy windows. Petunia found a few moldy blankets in the second room and made up a bed for Dudley on the moth-eaten sofa. She and Vernon went off to the lumpy bed next door, and Selena and Harry was left to find the softest bit of floor they could and curl up under the thinnest, most ragged blanket.

The storm raged more and more ferociously as the night went on. Selena or Harry couldn't sleep. She shivered and turned over, trying to get comfortable, her stomach rumbling with hunger. Dudley's snores were drowned by the low rolls of thunder that started near midnight. The lighted dial of Dudley's watch, which was dangling over the edge of the sofa on his fat wrist, told Harry he'd be eleven in ten minutes time.

She lay and watched Harry's birthday tick nearer, wondering if the Dursley's would remember at all, wondering where the letter writer was now.

Five minutes to go. Selena and Harry heard something creak outside. She hoped the roof wasn't going to fall in, although he might be warmer if it did. Four minutes to go. Maybe the house in Private Drive would be so full of letters when they got back they'd be able to steal one somehow.

Three minutes to go. Was that the sea, slapping hard on the rock like that? And (two minutes to go) what was that funny crunching noise? Was the rock crumbling into the sea?

One minute to go and he'd be eleven. Thirty seconds . . . twenty . . . ten . . . nine – maybe they'd wake Dudley up, just to annoy him – three . . . two . . . one . . .

BOOM.

The whole shack shivered and Selena and Harry sat bolted upright, staring at the door. Someone was outside, knocking to come in.

**An: Another chapter updated! Like It? Hate it? Please tell me and also guess who Selena's parent is...Till the next update...GOODBYE!**


	4. Chapter 4

KABOOM!

The whole shack shivered and Selena and Harry both bolted upright looking at each other before staring at the door. Someone was outside, the question is who?

KABOOM!

Someone had knocked again, it didn't feel like it would stop soon. Soon Dudley jerked awake.

"Where's the cannon?" The idiot asked.

There was a huge crash from behind them and Vernon came skidding into the puny room. He was holding a rifle in his hands-at least they now knew what was in the package he was carrying before.

"Who's there?" he shouted. "I will warn you...I'm armed!"

There was a pregnant pause, then- SMASH!

The door was hit with so much force that it swung clean off its hinges and with a deafening crash landed on the floor.

A giant of a man was standing in the doorway. His face was almost completely hidden by a long, shaggy mane of hair and a wild, matted beard, but you could make out his eyes, glinting like black beetles under all the outrageous hair.

The giant squeezed his way into the hut, stooping so that his head just brushed the ceiling. He bent down, picked up the broken door, and put it back easily into its frame. The noise of thunder and rain outside dropped outside, but only a little. He turned to look at them all.

"Couldn't make us a cup 'o tea, could yea? It's not been an easy journey..."

He strode over to the sofa where Dudley sat frozen in fear.

"Budge up, yeh great lump of fat," said the giant stranger.

Dudley squeaked and ran to hide behind his mother, who was crouching, terrified for her life behind Vernon.

"An' here's Harry and Selena!" said the giant.

Selena looked up into the fierce, wild, shadowy face and saw that the beetle eyes were crinkled into a kindly smile...wait a second, is that a leaf in his beard?

"Las' time I saw you two, you were both tiny little babies," said the giant. "Harry, yeh look a lot like your dad, but yeh got yer mother's eyes. And Selena, yeh just a splitting image of your dad."

Vernon made a funny rasping noise.

"I demand that you leave at once sir! You are breaking and entering!"

"Ah, shut up Dursley," said the giant; he reached over the back of the sofa and snatched the rifle out of Vernon's hands and bent it into a knot as easily as it was made out of taffy, and threw into the corner of the hut.

Vernon made yet another funny noise; like a mouse being stepped on.

"Anyway Harry," said the giant, turning his back to the Dursleys, "a very happy birthday to you and Selena happy birthday to you even though it was last month. Got both of yeh summat, her- I mighta sat on it some point, but it'll taste all right."

From inside the pocket of his black overcoat he pulled out two slightly squashed boxes. Selena opened hers in awe. Inside there was a large, chocolate cake with Happy Late Birthday Selena written on it in a mix of blue and silver. Selena took a glance at Harry's cake and it was just like hers and had emerald green icing.

Selena looked back at the giant and was about to say thank-you when Harry said, " Who are you?"

Selena slapped Harry lightly on the arm. "Manners!" She scolded.

The giant chuckled.

"True, I haven't introduced myself fully. Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts."

'Did he just say Pigfarts?'

"What about tha' tea then, eh?" He said, rubbing his hands together. "I'd not say no ter something stronger if yeh've got it, mind."

His eyes fell upon the empty grate with the shriveled up chip bags and he snorted. He bent down over the fireplace; they couldn't see what he was doing, but when he drew back a second later, there was a roaring fire there.

It filled the whole damp hut with flickering light and Selena felt the warmth wash over she as though she was wrapped in a warm blanket.

The giant sat back down on the sofa, which sagged under his weight, and began taking all kinds of things out of his pocket coat: a copper kettle, a squashy package of sausages, a poker, a teapot, and a bottle of some amber liquid that he took a swing of before starting to make tea. Soon the hut was filled with the sound and smell of sizzling sausage. Nobody said a thing while the giant was working, but as he slid the first six, fat, juicy, slightly burned sausages from the poker, Dudley fidgeted a little.

Uncle Vernon said sharply, "Don't touch anything he gives you Dudley."

The giant chuckled darkly.

"Yer great puddin' of a son don' need fattenin' anymore, Dursley, don' worry."

He passed the sausages to Selena and Harry, who were so hungry they had never tasted anything so wonderful, but she still couldn't take her eyes off the giant.

Finally, as nobody seemed about to explain anything, Harry said, "I'm sorry, but I still don't really know who you are."

"Yeah you sorta just busted down the door and came in unannounced." Selena said.

The giant took a gulp of tea and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Call me Hagrid," he said, "Everyone does. An' like I told yeh, I'm the Keeper of Keys at Hogwarts – you'll know all 'bout Hogwarts, o' course."

"Er – no." said Harry.

"Sorry, doesn't ring a bell." said Selena

Hagrid looked shocked.

"Sorry," said Harry and Selena quickly.

"Sorry?" barked Hagrid, turning to stare at the Dursleys, who shrank back in the shadows. "It's them as should be sorry! I knew you both weren't getting yer letters but I never thought yeh wouldn't know abou' Hogwarts, fer crying out loud! Did yeh never wonder where yer parents learned it all?"

"Learned what?" asked Harry.

"What are you even talking about?" Questioned Selena wondering about his sanity.

"WHAT I'M TAKING ABOUT?" Hagrid thundered.

Everyone in the hut flinched.

"Now wait jus' one second!" he had leapt to his feet, his anger seemed to fill the whole hut. The Dursley's were cowering against the wall.

"Do yer mean to tell me," growled Hagrid at the Dursleys, "that this boy – this girl! – knows nothin' abou' – about ANYTHING?"

"I can do some things," he said, "I can, you know, do math and stuff."

"I can see in the dark really well and get A's in all of my classes." Selena piped in.

But Hagrid simply waved his hand and said, "About our world, I mean. Your world. My world. Both of yer parent's world!"

"What world?"

Hagrid looked as though he were about to explode.

"DURSLEY!" he boomed.

"Knock 'em all out!" Vernon, who had gone very pale, whispered something that sounded like "MimbleWimble." Hagrid stared wildly at Selena and Harry.

"But yeh must know about yer mom and dad Harry," he said, "I mean – they're famous! You're both famous!"

"What? My – my mom and dad weren't famous, were they?"  
"What do you mean? You said that me and Harry are famous?"

"Yeh don' know . . . yeh don' know . . ." Hagrid ran his fingers through his hair, fixing Selena and Harry with a bewildered stare.

"Yeh don' know what yeh are?" he said finally.

Vernon suddenly found his voice. "Stop!" he commanded. "Stop right there, sir! I forbid you to tell the boy and girl anything!"

A braver man than Vernon Dursley would how quivered under the furious look Hagrid now gave him; when Hagrid spoke, his every syllable trembled with rage.

"You never told them? Never told them what was in the letters Dumbledore left fer them? I was there! I saw Dumbledore leave them, Dursley! And you kept it from them all these years?"

"Kept what from me?" said Harry eagerly.

"What are you hiding from us?"

"STOP! I FORBID YOU!" yelled Vernon in panic.

Petunia gave a gasp of horror.

"Ah, go boil yer heads, both of yeh," said Hagrid. "Harry – yer a wizard and Selena you're a witch."

There was silence in the hut. Only the sea and the whistling wind could be heard.

"Well thanks for calling a lady that." Selena said obviously offended.

"I'm a what?" gasped Harry.

"A wizard, and a witch o' course." Said Hagrid, sitting back down on the sofa which groaned and sank even lower, "and a thumpin' good'un, I'd say, once yeh've been trained up a bit. With a mom an' dad like yers, what else would ya be? And I reckon it's about time yeh've read yer letters."

Selena stretched out her hand at last to take one of the yellowish envelopes, addressed in green ink **to Ms. S. Black, The Floor, Hut-On-The-Rock, The Sea**. She pulled out the letter and read:  
_  
Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE

(order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)

Dear Ms. Black,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

Yours Sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall,

Deputy Headmistress  


Questions exploded inside Selena head like fireworks and she couldn't decide which to ask first. So she look at the o' so amazed Harry reading the letter.

After a few minutes Harry stammered, "What does it mean, they await my owl?"

Selena mentally face palmed.

"Gallopin' Gorgons, that reminds me," said Hagrid, clapping a hand to his forehead with enough force to knock over a cart horse, and from yet another pocket inside his overcoat he pulled an owl – a real, live, rather ruffled-looking owl – a long quill, and a roll of parchment. With his tongue between his teeth he scribbled a note that Harry could read upside down and Selena, not so much because the words kept floating off the page.

_Dear Professor Dumbledore,_

_Given Selena and Harry their letters,___

Taking them to buy their things tomorrow.

Weather's horrible. Hope you're well.

Hagrid  
  
Hagrid rolled up the note, gave it to the owl, which clamped it in its beak, went to the door, and threw the owl out into the storm. Then he came back and sat down as though this was as normal as talking on the telephone.

Harry realized his mouth was open and Selena closed it for him.

"Where was I?" said Hagrid, but at that moment, Uncle Vernon, still ashen-faced but looking very angry, moved into the firelight.

"They are not going," he said.

Hagrid grunted.

"I'd like ter see a great Muggle like you stop them,," he said.

"A what?" said Harry, interested.

"Did you just say a mugger?" said Selena.

"A Muggle," said Hagrid, "it's what we call nonmagic folk like them. An' it's your bad luck you grew up in a family o' the biggest Muggles I ever laid eyes on."

"We swore when we took them in we'd put a stop to that rubbish," said Vernon, "swore we'd stomp it out of them!

"You knew?" said Harry. "You knew I'm a – a wizard?"

"You know that were...Magical creatures?" growled Selena.

"Knew!" screeched Petunia suddenly. "Knew! Of course we knew! How could you not be, my dratted sister being what she was? Oh, she got a letter just like that and disappeared off to that – that school – and came home every vacation with her pockets full of frog spawn, turning teacups into rats. I was the only one who saw her for what she was – a freak! But for my mother and father, oh no, it was Lily this and Lily that, they were proud of having a witch in the family! And Lily the freak would talk about her husband and your fathers group!"

She stopped to draw a deep breath and then went ranting on. It seemed she had been wanting to say all this for years.

"Then she met that Potter at school and they left and got married and had you. Then she would always babysit you, and of course I knew you'd both be just the same, just as strange, just as – as – abnormal – and then, if you please, she went and got herself blown up and yours is a criminal and we got landed with you two!"

Selena had gone very red with anger, rage seeping in. As soon as she could talk over the rage she spoke, "Blown up? Criminal? You told me they both died in a car crashes!"

"CAR CRASHES!" roared Hagrid, jumping up so angrily that the Dursleys scuttled back to their corner. "How could a car crash kill Lily an' James Potter? Or even Sirius Black? It's an outrage! A scandal! Harry Potter and Selena Black now knowin' their own stories when every kid in our world knows their names?"

"But why? What happened?" Harry asked urgently.

"Please tell us, were desperate." Selena stepped forward.

The anger faded from Hagrid's face. He looked suddenly anxious.

"I never expected this," he said in a low, worried voice. "I had no idea, when Dumbledore told me there might be trouble gettin' hold of yeh, how much yeh didn't know. Ah, Selena, Harry, I don' know if I'm the right person ter tell yeh – but someone's gotta – yeh can't go off ter Hogwarts not knowin'."

He threw a dirty look at the Dursleys.

"Well, it's best yeh know as much as I can tell yeh – mind, I can't tell yeh everythin', it's a great myst'ry, parts of it. . . ."

He sat down, stared into the fire for a few seconds, and then said, "It begins, I suppose, with – with a person called – but it's incredible yeh don't know his name, everyone in our world knows –"

"Who?" Harry questioned.

"Well – I don' like sayin' the name if I can help it. No one does."

"Why not?" Selena asked.

"Gulpin' gargoyles, Selena, Harry, people are still scared. Blimey, this is difficult. See, there was this wizard who went . . . bad. As bad as you could go. Worse. Worse than worse. His name was . . ."

Hagrid gulped, but no words came out.

"Could you write it down?" Harry suggested.

"Nah – can't spell it. All right – Voldemort."

Selena thanked Hagrid silently for not writing it down.

Hagrid shuddered. "Don' make me say it again. Anyway, this – this wizard, about twenty years ago now, started lookin' fer followers. Got 'em too – some were afraid, some just wanted a bit o' his power, cause he was getting' himself power, all right. Dark days. Didn't know who ter trust, didn't dare get friendly with strange wizards or witches . . . terrible things happened. He was takin' over. 'Course, some stood up to him – an' he killed 'em. Horribly. One o' the only safe places left was Hogwarts. Reckon Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who was afraid of. Didn't dare try takin' the school, not jus' then, anyway.

"Now, Selena your dad was the best prankster there was. Harry, yer mom an' dad were as good a witch an' wizard as I ever knew. Head boy an' girl at Hogwarts in their day! Suppose the myst'ry is why You-Know-Who never tried to get 'em on his side before. . . . probably knew they were too close ter Dumbledore ter want anythin' ter do with the Dark Side.

"Maybe he thought he could persuade 'em . . . maybe he just wanted 'em outta the way. All anyone knows is, he turned up in the village where you was all living, on Halloween ten years ago. You were both just a year old. He came to yer house an' – an' –"

Though they'd been silent before, it seemed more of a vigil of silence now.

Hagrid suddenly pulled out a very dirty, spotted handkerchief and blew his nose with a sound like a foghorn.

"Sorry," he said. "But it's that sad – knew yer mom an' dad, an' nicer people yeh couldn't find – anyway . . .

"You-Know-Who killed 'em. An' then – an' this is the real myst'ry of the thing – he tried to kill the both ofyou, too. Wanted ter make a clean job of it, I suppose, or maybe he just liked killin by then. But he couldn't do it. Never wondered how you got that mark on your forehead, or even your wrist? That was no ordinary cut. That's what yeh get when a powerful, evil curse touches yeh – took care of yer mum an' dad an' yer house, even – but it didn't work on you, an' that's why yer both famous. No one ever lived after he decided ter kill 'em, no one except you to, an' he'd killed some o' the best witches and wizards of the age – the McKinnons, the Bones, the Prewetts – an you both were only babies, an' you lived."

"What about my dad?" Selena wanted to know what happened to her and what about her mother, why weren't they talking about her.

"Your father was sent to Azkaban, fer the murder of thirteen muggles."

'That can't be true." Selena thought trying to convince herself.

There was a long silence.

"Does that mean – I mean, do you think you have powers . . . like . . . greater than the average witch or wizard?"

Something very painful was going on in Selena's mind. As Hagrid's story came to a close, she saw again the blinding flash of green light, more clearly than she had ever remembered it before – and she remembered something else, for the first time in her life: a high, cold, cruel laugh.

Hagrid was watching them sadly.

"Took yeh from the ruined house myself, on Dumbledore's orders. Brought yeh ter this lot. . ."

"Load of old tosh," said Vernon. Selena gasped; she had almost forgotten that the Dursleys were there. Vernon certainly seemed to have got back his courage. He was glaring at Hagrid and his fists were clenched.

"Now, you listen here" he snarled, "I accept there's something strange about you too, probably nothing but a few good beatings wouldn't have cured –"

" – and as for all of this about both of your parents, well, they were weirdos, no denying it, and the world's better off without them in my opinion –"  
" – asked for all they got, getting mixed up with these wizarding types – just what I expected, always knew they'd come to a sticky end –"

But at that moment, Hagrid leapt from the sofa and drew out a battered pink umbrella from inside his coat. Pointing this at Uncle Vernon like a sword, he said, "I'm warning you Dursley – I'm warning you – one more word . . ."

In danger of being speared on the end of an umbrella by a bearded giant, Vernon's courage failed again; he flattened himself against the wall and then fell silent.

"That's better," said Hagrid, breathing heavily and sitting back down on the sofa, which this time sagged right down to the floor.

Selena, meanwhile, had a few questions to ask.

"But what happened to Vol-, sorry – I mean, You-Know-Who?"

"Good question,Selena. Disapeared. Vanished. Same night he tried ter kill you. Makes yeh even more famous. That's the biggest myst'ry, see . . . he was gettin' more an' more powerful –why'd he go?

"Some say he died. Codswallop in my opinion. Dunno if he had enough human left in him to die. Some say he's still out there, bidin' his time, like, but I don' believe it. People who was on his side came back ter ours. Some of 'em came outta kinda trances. Don' reckon they could've done if he was comin' back.

"Most of us reckon he's still out there somewhere, but lost his powers. Too weak to carry on. 'Cause somethin' about you to finished him. There was somethin' goin' on that night he hadn't counted on – I dunno what it was, no one does – but somethin' about you to stumped him all right."

Hagrid looked at Harry and Selena with warmth and respect blazing in his eyes, but Selena, instead of feeling pleased and proud, felt quite sure there had been a horrible mistake. A witch? Her? How could she possibly be? She'd spent her life being clouted by Dudley, and bullied by Petunia and Vernon; if she really was awitch, why hadn't they been turned into toads every time they'd tried to lock her in her and Harry's cupboard? If she'd once defeated the greatest sorcerer in the world with Harry, then how come Dudley was always able to kick them around like a football?

"Hagrid," she said quietly, "I think you must have made a mistake. I don't think I we can be wizards."

To his surprise, Hagrid chuckled.

"Not a wizard or a witch, eh? Never made things happen when you was scared or angry?"

Selena looked into the fire. Now that she came to think about it . . . every odd thing that had ever made Petunia and Vernon furious when she, Selena, had been upset or angry . . . chased by Dudley's gang, he had somehow found herself out of their reach . . . Being able to stay up all night without being tired, or even the one eyed man? And the very last time Dudley had hit Harry, hadn't she gotten her revenge, without even realizing she was doing it? Hadn't her and Harry set a boa constrictor on him?

Selena looked back at Hagrid, grinning , and saw that Hagrid was positively beaming at them.

"See?" said Hagrid. "Selena Black and Harry Potter, not a wizard or witch – you wait, you'll both be right famous at Hogwarts."

But Vernon wasn't going to give in without a fight.

"Haven't I told you they're not going?" he hissed. "they're going to Stonewall High and they're be grateful for it. I've read those letters and he needs all sorts of rubbish – spell books and wands and –"

"If they wants ter go, a great Muggle like you won't stop them," growled Hagrid. "Stop Lily an' James Potter's son and Sirius Blacks daughter goin' ter Hogwarts! Yer mad. Their names been down ever since they were born. He's off ter the finest school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world. Seven years there and they won't know. they'll be with youngsters of their own sort, fer a change, an' they'll be under the greatest headmaster Hogwarts ever had, Ablus Dumbled –"

"I AM NOT PAYING FOR SOME CRACKPOT OLD FOOL TO TEACH HIM MAGIC TRICKS!" yelled Vernon.

But he had finally gone too far. Hagrid seized his umbrella and whirled it over his head, "NEVER –" he thundered, " – INSULT – ALBUS – DUMBLEDORE – IN – FRONT – OF – ME!"

He brought the umbrella swishing down through the air to point at Dudley – there was a flash of violet light, a sound like a firecracker, a sharp squeal, and the next second, Dudley was dancing on the spot with his hands clasped over his fat bottom, howling in pain. When he turned his back on them, Selena saw a curly pig's tail poking through the hole in his trousers.

Vernon roared. Pulling Petunia and Dudley into the other room, he cast one last terrified look at Hagrid and slammed the door behind them.

Hagrid looked down at his umbrella and stroked his beard.

"Shouldn'ta lost me temper," he said ruefully, "but it didn't work anyway. Meant ter turn him into a pig, but I suppose he was so much like a pig anyway there wasn't much left to do."

He cast a sideways look at Selena and Harry under his bushy eyebrows.

"Be grateful if yeh didn't mention that ter anyone at Hogwarts," he said, "I'm – er – not supposed to do magic, strictly speakin'. I was allowed ter do a bit ter follow yeh an' get yer letters to yeh an' stuff – one o' the reasons I was so keen ter take the job –"

"Why aren't you supposed to do magic?" asked Harry.

"Your breaking the law? I do it every day," Selena said sarcastically ]. " I won't tell a living soul."

"Oh, well – I was at Hogwarts meself but I – er – got expelled, ter tell yeh the truth. In me third year. They snapped me wand in half an' everything. But Dumbledore let me stay on as gamekeeper. Great man, Dumbledore."

"It's getting' late and we've got lots ter do tomorrow," said Hagrid loudly. "Gotta get up ter town, get all yer book an' that."

He took off his thick black coat and threw it to Selena.

"You both can kip under that," he said. "Don' mind if it wriggles a bit, I think I still got a couple o' dormice in one o' the pockets."

**AN: Another chapter down! If you're curious Selena's birthday is June first. Another thing is that I have decided to make a poll on who Selena's parent should be Athena or Artemis. If you do not have a account you can vote in the review section. If you vote in the review section please put Vote: then put who you want to win! And of course the one with the most votes win. Till next week...Goodbye.**


	5. Chapter 5

Selena and Harry woke early the next morning. Although she could tell it was daylight, she kept her eyes shut tight. "It was a dream, Harry told himself firmly. "I dreamed a giant called Hagrid came to tell me I was going to a school for I open my eyes I'll be at home in my cupboard. "

"Don't lie to yourself Harry. It couldn't be a dream or I will slap you." Selena grumbled.

There was suddenly a loud tapping noise. And there's Petunia knocking on the door, Harry thought, his heart sinking. But he still didn't open his eyes. It had been such a good dream. Tap. Tap. Tap. "All right, " Harry mumbled, "I'm getting up. "

"No, I don't want to get up Mr. Snuggles. Please don't make me." Selena groaned.

Both Harry and Selena sat up and Hagrid's heavy coat fell off them. The hut was full of sunlight, the storm was over, Hagrid himself was asleep on the collapsed sofa, and there was an owl rapping its claw on the window, a newspaper held in its beak.

Selena's eyes widened, "I told you it wasn't a dream."

Selena felt a burst of energy like she could run forever and never stopped. She ran straight to the window and jerked it open. The owl swooped in and dropped the newspaper on top of Hagrid, who didn't wake up. The owl then fluttered onto the floor and began to attack Hagrid's coat. "Don't do that. "Harry tried to wave the owl out of the way, but it snapped its beak fiercely at him and carried on savaging the coat.

"Could you please stop that." Selena commanded and the bird flew onto her shoulder and hooted.

"Hagrid!" said Harry loudly. "There's an owl "Pay him," Hagrid grunted into the sofa. "What?"

"He wants payin' fer deliverin' the paper. Look in the pockets." Hagrid's coat seemed to be made of nothing but pockets -bunches of keys, slug pellets, balls of string, peppermint humbugs, teabags... Finally, Selena pulled out a handful of strange-looking coins. "Give him five Knuts, " said Hagrid sleepily.

""Knuts?" "The little bronze ones. " Selena counted out five little bronze coins, and the owl held out his leg so Selena could put the money into a small leather pouch tied to it. Then the owl nipped Selena and flew out the window.. Hagrid yawned loudly, sat up, and stretched. "Best be Off, Selena, Harry, lots ter do today, gotta get up ter London an' buy all yer stuff fer school."

Harry and Selena were turning over the wizard coins and looking at them. Selena had just thought of something that made her feel as though the happy balloon inside her had got deflated . "Um - Hagrid?""Mm?" said Hagrid, who was pulling on his huge boots. "We don't have money - and you heard Vernon last night... He won't pay for us to go and learn magic."

"Don't worry about that, " said Hagrid, standing up and scratching his head. "D'yeh think yer parents didn't leave yeh anything?""But if their house was destroyed - - ""They didn' keep their gold in the house! Nah, first stop fer us is Gringotts. Wizards' bank.

Have a sausage, they're not bad cold - an' I wouldn' say no teh a bit o' yer birthday cakes, neither. "

"Wizards have banks?"

"No Harry, they just carry their money everywhere they go."

"Just the one. Gringotts. Run by goblins. "

Harry was so shocked he dropped the bit of sausage he was holding.

"You mean like real life goblins?" Selena gasped.

"Yeah - so yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it, I'll tell yeh that. Never mess with goblins, Selena, Harry. Gringotts is the safest place in the world fer anything yeh want ter keep safe - 'cept maybe a matter o'fact, I gotta visit Gringotts anyway. Fer Dumbledore. Hogwarts business. " Hagrid drew himself up proudly. "He usually gets me ter do important stuff fer him. Fetchin' you to gettin' things from Gringotts - knows he can trust me, see."

"Got everythin'? Come on, then. "

Selena and Harry followed Hagrid out onto the rock. The sky was quite clear now and the sea gleamed in the sunlight. The boat Vernon had hired was still there, just torn to shreds.

"How did you get here?" Harry asked, looking around for another boat.

"Flew, " said Hagrid.

"Flew? Impossible." Selena said amazed.

"Yeah - but we'll go back in this. Not s'pposed ter use magic now I've got yeh."

"Seems a shame ter row, though, " said Hagrid, giving Harry another of his sideways looks. "If I was ter -er - speed things up a bit, would yeh mind not mentionin' it at Hogwarts?"

"Of course not, " said Harry, eager to see more magic. Hagrid pulled out the pink umbrella again, tapped it twice on the side of the boat, and they sped off toward land.

"Why would you be insaneto try and rob Gringotts?" Selena asked.

"Spells - enchantments, " said Hagrid, unfolding his newspaper as he spoke. "They say there's

dragons guardin' the high security vaults. And then yeh gotta find yer way -Gringotts is hundreds of miles underLondon, see. Deep under the Underground. Yeh'd die of hunger tryin' ter get out, even if yeh did manage ter get yer hands on summat."

Harry and Selena sat and thought about this while Hagrid read his newspaper, the Daily Prophet. Selena had learned from Vernon that people liked to be left alone while they did this, but it was very difficult, She'd never had so many questions in her life and she loved it.

"Ministry o' Magic messin' things up as usual, " Hagrid muttered, turning the page.

"There's a Ministry of Magic?" Harry asked, before he could stop himself.

"Harry, if there's a bank in the wizardry world then did you ever think that there was a Ministry?" Selena got a jab to the side.

" 'Course, " said Hagrid.

"They wanted Dumbledore fer Minister' course, but he'd never leave Hogwarts, so old Cornelius Fudge got the job. Bungler if ever there was one. So he pelts Dumbledore with owls every morning, askin' fer advice."

"But what does a Ministry of Magic do?" Selena asked.

"Well, their main job is to keep it from the Muggles that there's still witches an' wizards up an' down the country. "

"Why?" They said in sync.

"Why? Blimey, Selena, Harry, everyone'd be wantin' magic solutions to their problems. Nah, we're best left alone."

At this moment the boat bumped gently into the harbor wall. Hagrid folded up his newspaper, and they clambered up the stone steps onto the street. Passersby stared a lot at Hagrid as they walked through the little town to the station. Selena couldn't blame them. Not only was Hagrid twice as tall as anyone else, he kept pointing at perfectly ordinary things like parking meters and saying loudly, "See that, Selena, Harry? Things these Muggles dream up, eh?"

"Hagrid, " said Harry, panting a bit as he ran to keep up, "did you say there are dragons at Gringotts?"

"Well, so they say," said Hagrid. "Crikey, I'd like a dragon."

"That's...Awesome! Can I ever get one Hagrid?" Selena said running up to Hagrid with a burst of energy.

"You'd like one?"

"If I could I would."

"I wanted one ever since I was a kid - here we go."

They had reached the station. There was a train to London in five minutes. Hagrid, who didn't understand "Muggle money," as he called it, gave the bills to Selena and Harry so he could buy their tickets.

People stared more than ever on the train. Hagrid took up two seats and sat knitting what looked like a canary-yellow circus tent. "Still got yer letter, Selena, Harry?" he asked as he counted stitches. Harry and Selena took the parchment envelopes out of their pockets.

"Good, " said Hagrid.

"There's a list there of everything yeh need. " Harry and Selena unfolded a second piece of paper they hadn't noticed the night before, and both read:

**HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY**

UNIFORM

First-year students will require:

1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)

2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear

"We've never actually worn those." said James thinking of his hat that was at the bottom of his trunk.

3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)

4. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)

Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags

COURSE BOOKS

All students should have a copy of each of the following:

The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk

A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot

Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling

A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emetic Switch

One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore

Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander

The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble

OTHER EQUIPMENT

wand

cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)

glass or crystal phials

telescope set

brass scales

Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS

"Are do you even get this stuff?" Selena wonder in amazement.**  
**  
"Can we buy all this in London?" Harry wondered aloud.

"If yeh know where to go, " said Hagrid.

Selena had never been to London before and being with Harry was a big plus. Although Hagrid seemed to know where he was going, he was obviously not used to getting there in an ordinary way. He got stuck in the ticket barrier on the Underground, and complained loudly that the seats were too small and the trains too slow.

"I don't know how the Muggles manage without magic," he said as they climbed a broken-down escalator that led up to a bustling road lined with shops. Hagrid was so huge that he parted the crowd easily; all Selena and Harry had to do was keep close behind him. They passed book shops and music stores, hamburger restaurants and cinemas, but nowhere that looked as if it could sell you a magic wand.

This was just an ordinary street full of ordinary people. Could there really be piles of wizard gold buried miles beneath them? Were there really shops that sold spell books and broomsticks? Might this not all be some huge joke that the Dursleys had cooked up for the both of them?

Selena already knows of the Dursley's since of humor and there is none. She might have thought so; yet somehow, even though everything Hagrid had told them so far was unbelievable, Selena couldn't help trusting him.

"This is it, " said Hagrid, coming to a halt, "the Leaky Cauldron. It's a famous place."

It was a tiny, grubby-looking pub. If Hagrid hadn't pointed it out, Harry wouldn't have noticed it was there, but Selena was the opposite. She saw the building and gave weird looks to the people who couldn't see it. I mean it was right there! The people hurrying by didn't glance at it. Their eyes slid from the big book shop on one side to the record shop on the other as if they couldn't see the Leaky Cauldron at all. In fact, Selena had the most funniest feeling that only she, Harry, and Hagrid could see it.

Before Selena could mention this, Hagrid had steered them inside. For a famous place, it was very dark and shabby. A few old women were sitting in a corner, drinking tiny glasses of sherry. One of them was smoking a long pipe. A little man in a top hat was talking to the old bartender, who was quite bald and looked like a toothless walnut.

The low buzz of chatter stopped when they walked in. Everyone seemed to know Hagrid; they waved and smiled at him, and the bartender reached for a glass, saying, "The usual, Hagrid?"

"Can't, Tom, I'm on Hogwarts business," said Hagrid, clapping his great hand on Harry's and Selena's shoulders and making their knees buckle.

"Good Lord, " said the bartender, peering at Selena and Harry, "is this - can this be -?"The Leaky Cauldron had suddenly gone completely still and silent.

"Bless my soul, " whispered the old bartender, "Selena Black, Harry Potter... What an honor."

He hurried out from behind the bar, rushed toward Selena and Harry and seized their hands, tears in his eyes.

"Welcome back, Ms. Black Mr. Potter, welcome back."

"Excuse me?" Selena asked confused.

Harry didn't know what to say. Everyone was looking at them. The old woman with the pipe was puffing on it without realizing it had gone out. Hagrid was beaming. Then there was a great scraping of chairs and the next moment, Harry and Selena found themselves shaking hands with everyone in the Leaky Cauldron.

"Doris Crockford, Ms. Black, Mr. Potter, can't believe I'm meeting you both at last."

"So proud, Ms. Black, Mr. Potter, I'm just so proud. "

"Always wanted to shake your hands - I'm all of a flutter. "

"Delighted, Ms. Black and Mr. Potter, just can't tell you, Diggle's the name, Dedalus Diggle."

"I think I've seen you before." said Selena, as Dedalus Diggle's top hat fell off in his excitement.

"You bowed to us once in a shop."

"They remember!" cried Dedalus Diggle, looking around at everyone.

"Did you hear that? They remember me!" Selena and Harry shook hands again and again -Doris Crockford kept coming back for more. A pale young man made his way forward, very nervously. One of his eyes was twitching.

"Professor Quirrell!" said Hagrid.

"Selena, Harry, Professor Quirrell will be one of your teachers at Hogwarts. ""P-P-Potter, B-B-Black" stammered Professor Quirrell, grasping Selena's and Harry's hands, "c-can't t-tell you how p- pleased I am to meet you too. "

"What sort of magic do you teach, Professor Quirrell?"

"D-Defense Against the D-D-Dark Arts, " muttered Professor Quirrell, as though he'd rather not think about it.

"N-not that you n-need it, eh, B-B-Black, P-P-Potter?" He laughed nervously.

Selena eyed him suspiciously, as if the stutter was fake. If you teach a class with 'dark arts', then why to you sound so scared and nervous.

"You'll both be g-getting all your equipment, I suppose? I've g-got to p-pick up a new b-book on vampires, m-myself. " He looked terrified at the very thought.

But the others wouldn't let Professor Quirrell keep Selena and Harry to himself. It took almost ten minutes to getaway from them all. At last, Hagrid managed to make himself heard over the babble.

"Must get on - lots ter buy. Come on, Selena, Harry. "

Doris Crockford shook Selena's and Harry's hands one last time, and Hagrid led them through the bar and out into a small, walled courtyard, where there was nothing but a trash can and a few weeds.

"Ohhh..."

Hagrid grinned at Selena and Harry. "Told yeh, didn't I? Told yeh you too are famous. Even Professor Quirrell was tremblin' ter meet yeh – mind you, he's usually tremblin'. "

"Is he always that nervous?" Selena asked.

"Oh, yeah. Poor bloke. Brilliant mind. He was fine while he was studyin' outta books but then he took a year off ter get some firsthand experience... They say he met vampires in the Black Forest, and there was a nasty bit o' trouble with a hag - never been the same since. Scared of the students, scared of his own subject now, where's me umbrella?

"Vampires? Hags? Selena's and Harry's heads were swimming. Hagrid, meanwhile, was counting bricks in the wall above the trash can. "Three up... Two across he muttered. "Right, stand back, Selena, Harry."

He tapped the wall three times with the point of his umbrella. The brick he had touched quivered - it wriggled - in the middle, a small hole appeared - it grew wider and wider - a second later they were facing an archway large enough even for Hagrid, an archway onto a cobbled street that twisted and turned out of sight.

"Welcome, " said Hagrid, "to Diagon Alley.

"He grinned at Harry's amazement and Selena's astonished faces. They stepped through the archway. Selena looked quickly over her shoulder and saw the archway shrink instantly back into solid wall. The sun shone brightly on a stack of cauldrons outside the nearest shop. Cauldrons - All Sizes -Copper, Brass, Pewter, Silver - Self-Stirring -Collapsible, said a sign hanging over them.

"Yeah, you'll both be needin' one, " said Hagrid, "but we gotta get yer money first." Harry and Selena wished they both had about eight more eyes.

Selena turned her head in every direction as they walked up the street, trying to look at everything at once: the shops, the things outside them, the people doing their shopping. A plump woman outside an Apothecary was shaking her head as they passed, saying, "Dragon liver, seventeen Sickles an ounce, they're mad... "

A low, soft hooting came from a dark shop with a sign saying Eeylops Owl Emporium - Tawny, Screech, Barn, Brown, and Snowy. Several boys of about Selena's and Harry's age had their noses pressed against a window with broomsticks in it.

"Look, " Harry heard one of them say, "the new Nimbus Two Thousand - fastest ever - –"

There were shops selling robes, shops selling telescopes and strange silver instruments Selena had never seen before, windows stacked with barrels of bat spleens and eels' eyes, tottering piles of spell books, quills, and rolls of parchment, potion bottles, globes of the moon...

"Gringotts, " said Hagrid. They had reached a snowy white building that towered over the other little shops. Standing beside its burnished bronze doors, wearing a uniform of scarlet and gold, was

"Yeah, that's a goblin, " said Hagrid quietly as they walked up the white stone steps toward him. The goblin was about a head shorter than Selena . He had a swarthy, clever face, a pointed beard and, Selena noticed, very long fingers and feet. He bowed as they walked inside. Now they were facing a second pair of doors, silver this time, with words engraved upon them:

_"Enter, stranger, but take heed. Of what awaits the sin of greed, For those who take, but do not earn, Must pay most dearly in their turn. So if you seek beneath our floors A treasure that was never yours, Thief, you have been warned, beware of finding more than treasure there." _

"Like I said, Yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it, " said Hagrid. A pair of goblins bowed them through the silver doors and they were in a vast marble hall. About a hundred more goblins were sitting on high stools behind a long counter, scribbling in large ledgers, weighing coins in brass scales, examining precious stones through eyeglasses. There were too many doors to count leading off the hall, and yet more goblins were showing people in and out of these. Hagrid, Selena, and Harry made for the counter.

"Morning, " said Hagrid to a free goblin. "We've come ter take some money outta Mr. Harry Potter's and Ms. Selena Black's safes. "

"You have their keys, Sir?"

"Got them here somewhere, " said Hagrid, and he started emptying his pockets onto the counter, scattering a handful of moldy dog biscuits over the goblin's book of numbers. The goblin wrinkled his nose. Selena and Harry watched the goblin on their right weighing a pile of rubies as big as glowing coals.

"Got them, " said Hagrid at last, holding up two tiny golden keys. The goblin looked at them closely.

"That seems to be in order. "

"An' I've also got a letter here from Professor Dumbledore, " said Hagrid importantly, throwing out his chest. "It's about the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen."

The goblin read the letter carefully. "Very well, " he said, handing it back to Hagrid,

"I will have someone take you down to the three vaults. Griphook!"Griphook was yet another goblin. Once Hagrid had crammed all the dog biscuits back inside his pockets, he Selena, adn Harry followed Griphook toward one of the doors leading off the hall.

"What's the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen?" Harry asked.

"Can't tell yeh that, " said Hagrid mysteriously.

"Very secret. Hogwarts business. Dumbledore's trusted me. More'n my job's worth ter tell yeh that.

Selena look at Hagrid. 'What secret are they hiding?'

"Griphook held the door open for them. Selena and Harry, who both had expected more marble, were surprised. They were in a narrow stone passageway lit with flaming torches. It sloped steeply downward and there were little railway tracks on the floor. Griphook whistled and a small cart came hurtling up the tracks toward them. They climbed in - Hagrid with some difficulty - and were off. At first they just hurtled through a maze of twisting passages. Harry tried to remember, left, right, right, left, middle fork, right, left, but it was impossible. Selena seemed to remember all of it but the last three turns. The rattling cart seemed to know its own way, because Griphook wasn't steering.

Selena's and Harry's eyes stung as the cold air rushed past them, but they kept them wide open. Once, she thought she saw a burst of fire at the end of a passage and twisted around to see if it was a dragon, but too late – they plunged even deeper, passing an underground lake where huge stalactites and stalagmites grew from the ceiling and floor. I never know,

Harry called to Hagrid over the noise of the cart, "what's the difference between a stalagmite and a stalactite?"

Selena didn't talk although already knowing the answer.

"Stalagmite's got an 'm' in it, " said Hagrid.

"An' don' ask me questions just now, I think I'm gonna be sick. "

He did look very green, and when the cart stopped at last beside a small door in the passage wall, Hagrid got out and had to lean against the wall to stop his knees from trembling. Griphook unlocked the door. A lot of green smoke came billowing out, and as it cleared, Harry gasped. Inside were mounds of gold coins. Columns of silver. Heaps of little bronze Knuts. "All yours, Harry " smiled Hagrid.

Selena was amazed that Harry had all this and Hagrid said she had a vault too. But she's not greedy, she really isn't too fond of having money.

_'What else have the Dursleys have taken away from us?'_ Selena was fuming, alll she wanted was that Harry should be treated better. I mean he's their nephew.

All Harry's - it was incredible. The Dursleys couldn't have known about this or they'd have had it from him faster than blinking. How often had they complained how much Harry cost them to keep? And all the time there had been a small fortune belonging to him, buried deep under London.

Hagrid helped Harry pile some of it into a bag. "The gold ones are Galleons, " he explained. "Seventeen silver Sickles to a Galleon and twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle, it's easy enough. Right, that should be enough fer a couple o' terms, we'll keep the rest safe for yeh."

The mine cart was now going somewhere different, until it came a short stop.

"Vault number seven hundred and five, the Sirius Black's vault."

Just like Harry's, but it had artifacts and books and heaps of the same coins. "Be careful what you touch. Some of the things are bewitched and can curse you or worse death." Griphook warned. Selena only grabbed a few coins and they were back into the minecart.

Hagrid turned to Griphook."Vault seven hundred and thirteen now, please, and can we go more slowly?"

"One speed only, " said Griphook. They were going even deeper now and gathering speed. The air became colder and colder as they hurtled round tight corners. They went rattling over an underground ravine, and Harry and Selena leaned over the side to try to see what was down at the dark bottom, but Hagrid groaned and pulled them back by the scruffs of their necks. Vault seven hundred and thirteen had no keyhole. "Stand back, " said Griphook importantly. He stroked the door gently with one of his long fingers and it simply melted away. "If anyone but a Gringotts goblin tried that, they'd be sucked through the door and trapped in there, "said Griphook.

"How often do you check to see if anyone's inside?" Harry asked. "About once every ten years, " said Griphook with a rather nasty grin.

Something really extraordinary and dangerous had to be inside this top security vault, Selena was sure, and she leaned forward suspiciously, expecting to see something cursed at the very least - but at first she thought it was empty. Then she noticed a grubby little package wrapped up in brown paper lying on the floor.

Hagrid picked it up and tucked it deep inside his coat. Selena longed to know what it was, but knew better than to ask.

"Come on, back in this infernal cart, and don't talk to me on the way back, it's best if I keep me mouth shut, " said Hagrid.

One wild cart ride later they stood blinking in the sunlight outside Gringotts. Harry and Selena didn't know where to run first now that they have bags full of money They didn't have to know how many Galleons there were to a pound to know that they were holding more money than they had in their whole lives - more money than even Dudley had ever had.

"Might as well get yer uniforms, " said Hagrid, nodding toward Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. "Listen, Selena, Harry, would yeh mind if I slipped off fer a pick-me-up in the Leaky Cauldron? I hate them Gringotts carts. " He did still look a bit sick, so Selena and Harry entered Madam Malkin's shop alone, feeling nervous.

Madam Malkin was a squat, smiling witch dressed all in mauve. "Hogwarts, dears?" she said, when Harry started to speak. "Got the lot here - another young man being fitted up just now, in fact.

"In the back of the shop, a boy with a pale, pointed face was standing on a footstool while a second witch pinned up his long black robes. Madam Malkin stood Harry and Selena on stools next to him slipped a long robe over his head, and began to pin it to the right length. "Hello, " said the boy, "Hogwarts, too?"

"Yes, " said Harry.

Selena kept quiet.

"My father's next door buying my books and mother's up the street looking at wands, " said the boy. He had a bored, drawling voice. "Then I'm going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don't see why first years can't have their own. I think I'll bully father into getting me one and I'll smuggle it in somehow."  
The boy strongly reminded Selena of Dudley.

"Have you got your own brooms?" the boy went on. "No, " said Harry.

"Play Quidditch at all?"  
"No, " said Harry, feeling more stupid by the minute.

Selena was getting aggravated.

"Well, no one really knows until they get there, do they, but I know I'll be in Slytherin, all our family have been - imagine being in Hufflepuff, I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?"

"Mmm, " said Harry, wishing he could say something a bit more interesting. "I say, look at that man!" said the boy suddenly, nodding toward the front window. Hagrid was standing there, grinning at Harry and Selena, and pointing at three large ice creams to show he couldn't come in.

"That's Hagrid, " said Harry, pleased to know something the boy didn't.

"He works at Hogwarts. "

"Oh, " said the boy, "I've heard of him. He's a sort of servant, isn't he?"

"He's the gamekeeper, " said Harry. He was liking the boy less and less every second.

"Yes, exactly. I heard he's a sort of savage -lives in a hut on the school grounds and every now and then he gets drunk, tries to do magic, and ends up setting fire to his bed."

"I think he's brilliant, " said Harry coldly. "Do you?" said the boy, with a slight sneer. "Why is he with you? Where are your parents?"

"They're dead," said Harry shortly. He didn't feel much like going into the matter with this boy. "Oh, sorry, " said the other,

Not sounding sorry at all. "But they were our kind, weren't they?"

"They were a witches and wizards, if that's what you mean. ""I really don't think they should let the other sort in, do you? They're just not the same, they've never been brought up to know our ways. Some of them have never even heard of Hogwarts until they get the letter, imagine. I think they should keep it in the old wizarding families. What's your surnames, anyway?"

Before they could answer But before Harry could answer, Madam Malkin said, "That's you done, my dears, " and Harry, not sorry for an excuse to stop talking to the boy, hopped down from the footstool. "Well, I'll see you at Hogwarts, I suppose, " said the drawling boy.

Selena couldn't keep quiet. "You know what." Selena said coldly. "You don't know that for sure. I don't what these houses are, but damn are you spoiled. Mommy get me this, Daddy get me that. What you are is a spoiled selfish brat." Selena spat. And leaving the boy obviously offened, Selena and Harry strolled out of the store together.

Selena and Harry were rather quiet as they ate the ice cream Hagrid had bought them. What's up?" said Hagrid.

"Nothing, " Selena lied. They stopped to buy parchment and quills. Selena cheered up a bit when she found a bottle of ink that changed color as you wrote.

When they had left the shop, Harry said, "Hagrid, what's Quidditch?"

Selena turned her head to Harry, interested as well.

"Blimey, I keep forgettin' how little yeh know - not knowin' about Quidditch!"

"Don't make him feel worse, " said Selena.

Harry told Hagrid about the pale boy in Madam Malkin's. "-and he said people from Muggle families shouldn't even be allowed in.

""Yer not from Muggle families. If he'd known who yeh were - he's grown up knowin' yer names if his parents are wizardin' folk. You both saw what everyone in the Leaky Cauldron was like when they saw yeh. Anyway, what does he know about it, some o' the best I ever saw were the only ones with magic in 'em in along line' Muggles ."

"So what is Quidditch?" Selena asked.

"It's our sport. Wizard sport. It's like - like soccer in the Muggle world - everyone follows Quidditch -played up in the air on broomsticks and there's four balls - sorta hard ter explain the rules."

"And what are Slytherin and Hufflepuff?"

"School houses. There's four. Everyone says Hufflepuff are a lot o' duffers, but - - "

"I bet I'm in Hufflepuff" said Harry gloomily.

Selena smacked Harry on the arm. "Don't say that Harry."

"Better Hufflepuff than Slytherin, " said Hagrid darkly. "There's not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin. You-Know-Who was one."

"Vol-, sorry - You-Know-Who was at Hogwarts?"

"Years an' years ago, " said Hagrid. They bought Harry's and Selena's school books in a shop called Flourish and Blotts where the shelves were stacked to the ceiling with books as large as paving stones bound in leather; books the size of postage stamps in covers of silk; books full of peculiar symbols and a few books with nothing in them at all. Even Dudley, who never read anything, would have been wild to get his hands on some of these.

Hagrid almost had to drag Selena and Harry away from Curses and Countercurses (Bewitch Your Friends and Befuddle Your Enemies with the Latest Revenges: Hair Loss, Jelly-Legs, Tongue-Tying and Much, Much More) by Professor Vindictus Viridian.

"I was trying to find out how to curse Dudley."

"Yeah maybe just a little bit."

"I'm not sayin' that's not a good idea, but yer not ter use magic in the Muggle world except in very special circumstances, " said Hagrid.

"An' anyway, yeh couldn' work any of them curses yet, yeh'll need a lot more study before yeh get ter that level."  
Hagrid wouldn't let Harry nor Selena buy a solid gold cauldron, either, but they got a nice set of scales for weighing potion ingredients and a collapsible brass telescope.

Then they visited the Apothecary, which was fascinating enough to make up for its horrible smell, a mixture of bad eggs and rotted cabbages. Barrels of slimy stuff stood on the floor; jars of herbs, dried roots, and bright powders lined the walls; bundles of feathers, strings of fangs, and snarled claws hung from the ceiling. While Hagrid asked the man behind the counter for a supply of some basic potion ingredients for Selena and Harry, Selena examined silver unicorn horns at twenty-one Galleons each and minuscule, glittery-black beetle eyes (five Knuts a scoop).

Outside the Apothecary, Hagrid checked Harry's list again. "Just yer wand left - A yeah, an' I still haven't got yeh a birthday presents."

Harry and Selena felt themselves go red. "You don't have to - -" Selena stated.

"I know I don't have to. Tell yeh what, I'll get yer animals. Not a toad, toads went outta fashion years ago, yeh'd be laughed at - an' I don' like cats, they make me sneeze. I'll get Harry yer owl . All the kids want owls, they're dead useful, carry yer mail an' everythin'.

"Twenty minutes later, they left Eeylops Owl Emporium, which had been dark and full of rustling and flickering, jewel-bright eyes. Harry now carried a large cage that held a beautiful snowy owl, fast asleep with her head under her wing. He couldn't stop stammering his thanks, sounding just like Professor Quirrell.

Selena felt a pull and walk towards an alley way away from Harry and Hagrid. Selena walked into another Emporium, looking more run down then everything surrounding it. She was welcomed and something got her eye. There was a litter of dogs? They were all were black, but there was a little white one getting shunned by all of them. She picked the white one up and felt connected to it as it snuggled into her for warmth. Someone tapped her on the shoulder.

"You know that's a grim right?"

"I don't care."

"There like walking death traps. Are you sure you want it?" The shop keeper said.

"It doesn't matter. The white grim opened its blue eyes and liked her hand.

"I've never seen a grim like someone so much before. It's on the house."

Selena look at the grim with affection. "You're a girl so I'll call you snow."

Selena carried the puppy grim and met up with Hagrid and Harry. "Where did you go?" Harry asked.

"It doesn't matter. Hagrid, is it okay to keep her." Selena showed Snow to Hagrid.

"I suppose it's alrigh'." Hagrid said gruffly

"Just Ollivanders left now - only place fer wands, Ollivanders, and yeh gotta have the best wand. "A magic wand... This was what Harry and Selena had been really looking forward to.  
The last shop was narrow and shabby. Peeling gold letters over the door read Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. A single wand lay on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window. A tinkling bell rang somewhere in the depths of the shop as they stepped inside. It was a tiny place, empty except for a single, spindly chair that Hagrid sat on to wait.  
Selena felt strangely as though she had entered a ancient library;

she swallowed a lot of new questions that had just occurred to her and looked instead at the thousands of narrow boxes piled neatly right up to the ceiling. For some reason, the back of her neck prickled. The very dust and silence in here seemed to tingle with some secret magic.

"Good afternoon, " said a soft voice. Selena and Harry jumped at the sudden noise. Hagrid must have jumped, too, because there was aloud crunching noise and he got quickly off the spindly chair. An old man was standing before them, his wide, pale eyes shining like moons through the gloom of the shop. "Hello, " said Harry awkwardly.

"Good day." Selena said.

"Ah yes, " said the man. "Yes, yes. I thought I'd be seeing you soon. Selena Black and Harry Potter. "  
It wasn't a question. "Harry have your mother's eyes. It seems only yesterday she was in here herself, buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work. Your father, on the other hand, favored a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration. Well, I say your father favored it - it's really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course."

" Selena you have your fathers eyes, the best of all pranksters. He had the perfect wand for Defense of Dark Arts."

"Mr. Ollivander moved closer to Selena and Harry. Those silvery eyes were a bit strange.

Mr. Ollivander had come so close that he and Selena were almost nose to nose. Selena could see herself reflected in those misty eyes.

"And that's where... "Mr. Ollivander touched the lightning scar on Harry's forehead with a long, white finger and then her moved to Selena's wrist and touched her crescent moon scar. "I'm sorry to say I sold the wand that did it, " he said softly. "Thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Powerful wand, very powerful, and in the wrong hands... Well, if I'd known what that wand was going out into the world to do... "He shook his head and then, to Selena's and Harry's relief, spotted Hagrid.

"Rubeus! Rubeus Hagrid! How nice to see you again... Oak, sixteen inches, rather bendy, wasn't it?"

"It was, sir, yes, " said Hagrid.

"Good wand, that one. But I suppose they snapped it in half when you got expelled?" said Mr. Ollivander, suddenly stern.

"Er - yes, they did, yes, " said Hagrid, shuffling his feet. "I've still got the pieces, though, " he added brightly.

"But you don't use them?" said Mr. Ollivander sharply. "Oh, no, sir, " said Hagrid quickly. Selena noticed he gripped his pink umbrella very tightly as he spoke.

"Hmmm, " said Mr. Ollivander, giving Hagrid a piercing look. "Well, now - Ms. Black, Mr. Potter. Let me see. " He pulled a long tape measure with silver markings out of his pocket. "Which is your wand arm, Mr. Potter?"

"Er - well, I'm right-handed, " said Harry. "Hold out your arm. That's it. " He measured Harry from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and round his head.

As he measured, he said, "Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance, Mr. Potter. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers, and the heart strings of dragons. No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons, or phoenixes are quite the same. And of course, you will never get such good results with another wizard's wand."

Harry suddenly realized that the tape measure, which was measuring between his nostrils, was doing this on its own. Mr. Ollivander was flitting around the shelves, taking down boxes.

"That will do, " he said, and the tape measure crumpled into a heap on the floor. "Right then, . Try this one. Beechwood and dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Nice and flexible. Just take it and give it a wave. "Harry took the wand and (feeling foolish) waved it around a bit, but Mr. Ollivander snatched it out of his hand almost at once.

"Maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite whippy. Try - - "Harry tried - but he had hardly raised the wand when it, too, was snatched back by Mr. Ollivander. "No, no -here, ebony and unicorn hair, eight and a half inches, springy. Go on, go on, try it out. "Harry tried. And tried. He had no idea what Mr. Ollivander was waiting for. The pile of tried wands was mounting higher and higher on the spindly chair, but the more wands Mr. Ollivander pulled from the shelves, the happier he seemed to become. "Tricky customer, eh? Not to worry, we'll find the perfect match here somewhere - I wonder, now -yes, why not - unusual combination - holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple. "Harry took the wand. He felt a sudden warmth in his fingers. He raised the wand above his head, brought it swishing down through the dusty air and a stream of red and gold sparks shot from the end like a firework, throwing dancing spots of light on to the walls.

Hagrid whooped and clapped and Selena was awed and Mr. Ollivander cried, "Oh, bravo! Yes, indeed, oh, very good. Well, well, well... How curious... How very curious... "

It was Selena's turn.

"Ms. Black which is your wand arm?"

"I'm Ambidextrous sir."

"Very well, I have the perfect wand for you."

It was about ten minutes later Mr. Ollivander came out with a slick black box and pulled out a beautiful wand. Selena's eyes widened at the sight. The wand was silver and had blue crystals woven into it. It look like it had another language written on it. Mr. Ollivander handed Selena the wand.

Selena swished it and sparks of blue and grey shocked out.

"Awe yes, the perfect wand indeed. American beech wood with a white phoenix feather and Thestral hair. Very powerful, good for all classes."

He put Harry's and Selena's wands back into their boxes and wrapped themin brown paper, still muttering, "Curious... Curious.. "Sorry, " said Harry, what's curious?" Mr. Ollivander fixed Harry with his pale stare. "I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Potter. Every single wand.  
It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather -just one other. It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother why, its brother gave you that scar."

Harry swallowed. "Yes, thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Curious indeed how these things happen. The wand chooses the wizard, remember... I think we must expect great things from you, Mr. Potter... After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things - terrible, yes, but great."

Selena gave him a comforting pat on the back.

Harry shivered. He wasn't sure he liked Mr. Ollivander too much. In total Harry and Selena paid fourteen gold Galleons for their wands, and Mr. Ollivander bowed them from his shop. The late afternoon sun hung low in the sky as Selena, Harry, and Hagrid made their way back down Diagon Alley, back through the wall, back through the Leaky Cauldron, now empty. Harry nor Selena didn't speak at all as they walked down the road; they didn't even notice how much people were gawking at them on the Underground, laden as they were with all their funny-shaped packages, with the snowy owl asleep in its cage on Harry's lap and the white grim on Selena's lap. Up another escalator, out into Paddington station; Selena only realized where they were when Hagrid tapped her on the shoulder.

"Got time fer a bite to eat before yer train leaves, "he said. He bought Selena and Harry hamburgers and they sat down on plastic seats to eat them. Harry kept looking around. Everything looked so strange, somehow.

"You two all right? Yer both being very quiet, " said Hagrid. Selena wasn't sure she could explain to Hagrid. Harry just had the best birthday of his life - and yet - he chewed his hamburger, trying to find the words.

"Everyone thinks were special, "Selena said. "All those people in the Leaky Cauldron, Professor Quirrell, Mr. Ollivander... But we don't know anything about magic at all. How can they expect great things?"

Were famous and we can't even remember what were famous for. I don't know what happened when Vol-, sorry – I mean, the night my parents died."Harry said.

Hagrid leaned across the table. Behind the wild beard and eyebrows he wore a very kind smile. "Don' you worry. You'll both learn fast enough. Everyone starts at the beginning at Hogwarts, you'll both be just fine. Just be yerselves . I know it's hard. Yeh've been singled out, an' that's always hard. But yeh'll have a great time at Hogwarts - I did - still do, 'smatter of fact."

Hagrid helped Selena and Harry on to the train that would take them back to the Dursleys, then handed their an envelopes.

"Yer tickets fer Hogwarts, " he said. "First o' September - King's Cross - it's all on yer tickets. Any problems with the Dursleys, send me a letter with yer owl, she'll know where to find me... See yeh soon, Selena, Harry."

The train pulled out of the station. Selena and Harry wanted to watch Hagrid until he was out of sight; they rose in their seats and pressed their noses against the window, but when they blinked, Hagrid was gone.

**AN: Wow this was a long chapter. The voting will stop May 20. Keep voting and I have this story on two websites so double the voting. Sorry it took so long I was sick and my sisters would hog the computer. Well till the next update...GOODBYE!**


	6. Chapter 6

Selena's and Harry's last month with the Dursleys wasn't really fun . True, Dudley was now so scared of Selena and Harry he wouldn't stay in the same room, while Petunia and Vernon didn't shut Selena and Harry in their cupboard, force them to do anything, or shout at them - in fact, they didn't speak to them at all. Selena wasn't complaining though. She was happy they should be scared of her.

Half terrified, half furious, they acted as though any chair with Selena or Harry in it were empty. Although this was an improvement in many ways, it did become a bit depressing after a while. Harry and Selena kept to their room, with Harry's new owl and Selena's new grim for company. Selena suggested that Harry should call the snowy owl Hedwig, from one of the books she read and soon enough Harry had agreed to call her Hedwig. Their school books were very interesting. Selena would stay up late at night reading with her grim Snow and was always tired in the morning. Harry as well laid on his bed reading late into the night, Hedwig swooping in and out of the open window as she pleased.

It was lucky that Petunia didn't come in to vacuum anymore, because Hedwig kept bringing back dead mice. Every night before they went to sleep, Harry or Selena would ticked off another day on the piece of paper they had pinned to the wall, counting down to September the first.

On the last day of August Harry thought he'd better speak to his aunt and uncle about getting to King's Cross station the next day because they hate Selena more than him, so he went down to the living room where they were watching a quiz show on television.

He cleared his throat to let them know he was there, and Dudley screamed and ran from the room. "Er - Uncle Vernon?" Vernon grunted to show he was listening. "Er - Selena and I need to be at King's Cross tomorrow to - to go to Hogwarts. " Vernon grunted again. "Would it be all right if you gave me a lift?"

Grunt.

"Psst, Harry that means yes." Selena whispered hiding from them.

"Thank you. "He was about to go back upstairs with Selena when Vernon actually spoke. "Funny way to get to a wizards' school, the train. Magic carpets all got punctures, have they?"

Harry didn't say anything. "Where is this school, anyway?"

"I don't know, " said Harry, realizing this for the first time. He pulled the ticket Hagrid had given him out of his pocket. "We just take the train from platform nine and three-quarters at eleven o'clock, " he read. His aunt and uncle stared. "Platform what?"

"Nine and three-quarters. What else" Selena said

"Don't talk rubbish, " said Vernon.

"There is no platform nine and three-quarters."

"It's on are tickets." Selena glared.

"Barking, " said Vernon, "howling mad, the lot of them. You'll see. You just wait. All right, we'll take you too to King's Cross. We're going up to London tomorrow anyway, or I wouldn't bother."

"Why are you going to London?" Harry asked, trying to keep things friendly.

"Taking Dudley to the hospital, " growled Vernon. "Got to have that ruddy tail removed before he goes to Smeltings."

Selena snickered and went into insane clenching her stomach laughter with Snow following her 'master'.

Selena woke at five o'clock the next morning and was too excited and nervous to go back to sleep, so she did the smart thing. She woke Harry up by bouncing on him. He got up, being the same as Selena, nervous and excited. They both got changed into normal clothes walk because they didn't want to walk into the station in their wizard's robes –they decided to change on the train.

Selena checked their Hogwarts lists yet again to make sure that they had everything they needed, saw that Hedwig was shut safely in her cage, and Snow was in a carrier. Then they paced around the room, waiting for the Dursleys to get up. Two hours later, Harry's and Selena's huge, heavy trunks had been loaded into the Dursleys' car, Petunia had talked Dudley into sitting in the middle of Selena and Harry, and they had set off.

They reached King's Cross at half past ten. Vernon dumped Harry's and Selena's trunks onto a cart and wheeled it into the station for them. Selena thought this was a one and of a kind of moment of Vernon being nice, until Vernon stopped dead, facing the platforms with a nasty grin on his face. "Well, there go. Platform nine - platform ten. Your platform should be somewhere in the middle, but they don't seem to have built it yet, do they?" He was quite right, of course. There was a big plastic number nine over one platform and a big plastic number ten over the one next to it, and in the middle, nothing at all. "Have a good term, " said Vernon with an even nastier smile.

"Smart a-" Harry sent Selena a pointed look.

He left without another word. Selena turned and saw the Dursleys drive away.

All three of them were laughing. Selena eyes widened. What on earth were they going to do? They were starting to attract a lot of funny looks, because of Hedwig and Snow. They'd would soon have to ask someone.

Harry stopped a passing guard, that Selena was to afraid because it reminded her of a Cyclops. They didn't dare mention platform nine and three-quarters. The guard had never heard of Hogwarts and when Harry nor Selena couldn't even tell him what part of the country it was in, he started to get annoyed, as though Harry and the horror Selena were being stupid on purpose.

Getting desperate, Harry asked for the train that left at eleven o'clock, but the guard said there wasn't one. In the end the guard strode away, muttering about time wasters. Selena was now trying hard not to panic. According to the large clock over the arrivals board, they had ten minutes left to get on the train to Hogwarts and they had no idea how to do it; they were stranded in the middle of a station with trunks they could hardly lift, pockets full of wizard money, and a large owl, plus a grim. Hagrid must have forgotten to tell them something you had to do, like tapping the third brick on the left to get into Diagon Alley. Selena wondered if they should get out their wands and start tapping the ticket inspector's stand between platforms nine and ten.

At that moment a group of people passed just behind them and Selena caught a few words of what they were saying. "- packed with Muggles, of course - - " Selena swung round, pulling Harry with her of course. The speaker was a plump woman who was talking to four boys, all with flaming red hair.

Each of them were pushing a trunk like Selena's in front of them- and they had an owl. Their hearts hammering, Selena and Harry their carts after them. They stopped and so did they, just near enough to hear what the family were saying. "Now, what's the platform number?" said the boys' mother. "Nine and three-quarters!" piped a small girl, also red-headed, who was holding her hand. "Mom, can't I go..."

"You're not old enough Ginny, now be quiet. All right, Percy, you go first." What looked like the oldest boy marched toward platforms nine and ten. Selena watched, not blinking in case she missed it-but just as the boy reached the dividing barrier between the two platforms, a large crowd of tourists came swarming in front of him and by the time the last backpack had cleared away, the boy had vanished.

"Fred, you next," the plump women said.

"I'm not Fred, I'm George," said the boy.

"Honestly, woman, you call yourself our mother? Can't you tell I'm George?"

"Sorry George, dear."

"Only joking, I'm Fred." said the boy, and off he went.

His twin called after him to hurry up, and he must have done so, because a second later, he was gone, but how did he do it? Now the third brother was walking briskly toward the barrier he was almost there, and then, quite suddenly, he wasn't anywhere. There was nothing else for it.

"Excuse me," Selena spoke up.

"The thing is- the thing is, we don't know how..."

"How to get onto the platform?" she said kindly, and they both nodded.

"Not to worry," she said. "All you have to do is walk straight at the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Don't stop and don't be scared you'll crash into it, that's very important. Best do it at a bit of a run if you're nervous. Go on, go now before Ron." The women said pointing to Selena.

"Seems legit." Mumbled Selena. She pushed her trolley around and stared at the brick wall. For starters it looked very solid. Selena started to walk toward it. People jostled him on their way to platforms nine and ten. Selena went into a light jig. She was going to be a pancake. She broke out in sprinting- the barrier was coming nearer and nearer, she wouldn't be able to stop. Her cart was out of control, she was a foot away, her eyes closed ready for an impact, but it didn't come. She opened her eyes and couldn't believe what she saw. A scarlet steam engine was waiting next to the platform packed with people. A sign overhead said Hogwarts Express, eleven O' clock, but the sign to Selena said: Tawsrhog Sepresx evnele O'ckolc.

Selena felt someone bump into her and saw that it was Harry, more amazed than her. Selena looked behind her and saw a wrought-iron archway where the barrier had been, with words Platform Nine and Three-Quarters on it, surprising Selena could read that. They had done it. Smoke from the engine drifted over the heads of the chattering crowd, while cats of every color wound up here and there between their legs.

Owls hooted to one another in a disgruntled sort of way over the babble and the scraping of heavy trunks. The first few carriages were already packed with students, some hanging out of the window to talk to their families, some fighting over seats. Selena and Harry pushed their carts off down the platform to search of an empty seat or seats. They passed a round-faced boy who was saying, "Gran, I've lost my toad again."

"Oh Neville," Selena heard the old women sigh.

A boy with deadlocks was surrounded by a small crowd. "Give us a look, Lee, go on." The boy lifted the lid of a box in his arms, and the people round him shrieked and screeched as something inside poked out a long, hairy leg.

They pressed on through the crowd until he found an empty compartment near the end of the train. Harry put Hedwig inside first, as well as Selena did the same with Snow. Then they started to shove and heave their trunks toward the train door. Harry tried to lift it up the steps but could hardly raise one end with Selena's help. Twice they dropped it both painfully on their feet.

"Want a hand?" It was one of the red-haired twins he'd followed through the barrier. "Yes, please, " Harry panted.

"Please." Selena was stomping her foot.

"Oy, Fred! C'mere and help!"With the twins' help, Harry's and Selena trunks was at last tucked away in a corner of the compartment. "Thanks, " said Harry, pushing his sweaty hair out of his eyes. "Thanks a lot." Selena smiled putting her hair up showing her wrist.

"What's this?" said one of the twins suddenly, pointing at Harry's lightning scar and Selena's moon scar.

"Blimey, " said the other twin. "Are you too"

They are, " said the first twin. "Aren't you guys?" he added to Harry and Selena.

"What?" said Harry.

""Harry Potter, and Selena Black "chorused the twins. "Oh, them, " said Harry.

Selena gave him a look.

"I mean, yes, we are. "The two boys gawked at them, and Selena felt herself turning red.

Then, their reliefs, a voice came floating in through the train's open door. "Fred? George? Are you there?"

"Coming, Mom. "With a last look at Harry and Selena, the twins hopped off the train.

Harry and Selena sat down next to two separate windows where, half hidden, Selena could watch the red-haired family on the platform and hear what they were saying.

Their mother had just taken out her handkerchief. "Ron, you've got something on your nose. "

The youngest boy tried to jerk out of the way, but she grabbed him and began rubbing the end of his nose. "Mom - geroff" He wriggled free.

"Aaah, has ickle Ronnie got some fink on his nosie?" said one of the twins.

"Shut up, " said Ron.

"Where's Percy?" said their mother.

"He's coming now. "The oldest boy came striding into sight. He had already changed into his billowing black Hogwarts robes, and Harry noticed a shiny silver badge on his chest with the letter P on it.

"Can't stay long, Mother, " he said. "I'm up front, the prefects have got two compartments to themselves- - ""Oh, are you a prefect, Percy?" said one of the twins, with an air of great surprise. "You should have said something, we had no idea. "

"Hang on, I think I remember him saying something about it, " said the other twin. "Once - - ""Or twice - -""A minute - - ""All summer - - ""Oh, shut up, " said Percy the Prefect.

"How come Percy gets new robes, anyway?" said one of the twins.

"Because he's a prefect, " said their mother fondly.

'So she picks favorites.' Selena thought with disgust.

"All right, dear, well, have a good term - send me an owl when you get there. "She kissed Percy on the cheek and he left. Then she turned to the twins. "Now, you two - this year, you behave yourselves. If I get one more owl telling me you've – you've blown up a toilet or - - "

Harry a look to Selena. "What? Okay maybe once I did."

"Blown up a toilet? We've never blown up a toilet."

"Great idea though, thanks, Mom."

"It's not funny. And look after Ron."

"Don't worry, ickle Ronniekins is safe with us."

"Shut up, " said Ron again. He was almost as tall as the twins already and his nose was still pink where his mother had rubbed it. "

Hey, Mom, guess what? Guess who we just met on the train?"

Selena leaned back quickly so they wouldn't notice her. "You know that black-haired boy and the blonde-haired girl who was near us in the station? Know who they are?"

"Who?"

" Selena Black and Harry Potter!

"Harry and Selena heard the little girl's voice. "Oh, Mom, can I go on the train and see them, Mom, eh please... "

"You've already seen them, Ginny, and poor Harry isn't something you goggle at in a zoo. Is he really, Fred? How do you know?"

"Asked them. Saw their scars. It's really there - like lightning and the moon."

"Poor dears - no wonder, they only have themselves I wondered. they were ever so polite when they asked how to get onto the platform."

"Never mind that, do you think they remembers what You-Know-Who looks like?"

Their mother suddenly became very stern. "I forbid you to ask them, Fred. No, don't you dare. As though they needs reminding of that on their first day at school. "

"All right, keep your hair on. "

A whistle sounded. "Hurry up!" their mother said, and the three boys clambered onto the train. They leaned out of the window for her to kiss them good-bye, and their younger sister began to cry. "Don't, Ginny, we'll send you loads of owls. "

"We'll send you a Hogwarts toilet seat."

"George!"

"Only joking, Mom."

The train began to move. Selena saw the boys' mother waving and their sister, half laughing, half crying, running to keep up with the train until it gathered too much speed, then she fell back and waved. Selena watched the girl and her mother disappear as the train rounded the corner. Houses flashed past the window. Selena felt a great leap of nervousness. She didn't know what she was going to but it had to be better than what she was leaving behind.

The door of the compartment slid open and the youngest redheaded boy came in. "Anyone sitting there?" he asked, pointing at the seat opposite Harry.

"Everywhere else is full. " Selena shook her head and the boy sat down. He glanced at Harry and Selena and then looked quickly out of the window, pretending he hadn't looked. Selena saw he still had a black mark on his nose.

"Hey, Ron. "

The twins were back. "Listen, we're going down the middle of the train - Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there."  
"Right, " mumbled Ron.

"Harry, Selena " said the other twin, "did we introduce ourselves? Fred and George Weasley. And this is Ron, our brother. See you two later, then. "Bye, " said Selena, Harry, and Ron. The twins slid the compartment door shut behind them. "Are you really Harry Potter and Selena Black?" Ron blurted out.

They both nodded. "Oh -well, I thought it might be one of Fred and George's jokes, " said Ron. "And have you two really got -you know... "He pointed at Harry's forehead and Selena's wrist. Harry pulled back his bangs to show the lightning scar. Selena removed her hair band and showed him her crescent moon scar. Ron stared. "So that's where You-Know-Who"

"Yes," they said in sync, "but we can't remember it. "

"Nothing?" said Ron eagerly. "Well - I remember a lot of green light, but nothing else. " said Harry.

Selena glared slightly. 'Yeah I might have been eavesdropping, but didn't his mom say not ask questions about Moldyshorts?'

"Wow, " said Ron. He sat and stared at Harry and then at Selena for a few moments, then, as though he had suddenly realized what he was doing, he looked quickly out of the window again.

"Are all your family wizards?" asked Harry, who found Ron just as interesting as Ron found him and Selena not so much. "Er - Yes, I think so, " said Ron. "I think Mom's got a second cousin who's an accountant, but we never talk about him."

"So you must know loads of magic already. "The Weasleys were clearly one of those old wizarding families the pale boy in Diagon Alley had talked about.

"I heard you went to live with Muggles, " said Ron. "What are they like?"

"Torturous." Was Selena's reply.

"Horrible -well, not all of them. My aunt and uncle and cousin are, though. Wish I'd had three wizard brothers."

"Five, " said Ron.

For some reason, he was looking gloomy.

"I'm the sixth in our family to go to Hogwarts. You could say I've got a lot to live up to. Bill and Charlie have already left - Bill was head boy and Charlie was captain of Quidditch. Now Percy's a prefect. Fred and George mess around a lot, but they still get really good marks and everyone thinks they're really funny. Everyone expects me to do as well as the others, but if I do, it's no big deal, because they did it first. You never get anything new, either, with five brothers. I've got Bill's old robes, Charlie's old wand,  
and Percy's old rat. "

Ron reached inside his jacket and pulled out a fat gray rat, which was asleep. "His name's Scabbers and he's useless, he hardly ever wakes up. Percy got an owl from my dad for being made a prefect, but they couldn't aff - I mean, I got Scabbers instead."

Ron's ears went pink.

Selena looked at the rat cautiously, something in her gut said that the rats looks could be perceiving.

He seemed to think he'd said too much, because he went back to staring out of the window. Selena nor Harry didn't think there was anything wrong with not being able to afford an owl. After all, they had never had any money in their lives until a month ago, and they told Ron so, all about having to wear Dudley's and Petunia's old clothes and never getting proper birthday presents.

This seemed to cheer Ron up. "... And until Hagrid told me, I didn't know anything about being a wizard or about my parents or Voldemort." Harry said, while Selena nodded.

Ron gasped.

"What?" said Harry. "You said You-Know-Who's name!" said Ron, sounding both shocked and impressed. "I'd have thought you, of all people - - "

"What Moldyshorts?"

"I'm not trying to be brave or anything, saying the name, " said Harry, I just never knew you shouldn't. See what I mean? I've got loads to learn... I bet, " he added, voicing for the first time something that had been worrying him a lot lately, "I bet I'm the worst in the class and Selena would be the best. "

While they had been talking, the train had carried them out of London. Now they were speeding past fields full of cows and sheep. They were quiet for a time, watching the fields and lanes flick past. Around half past twelve there was a great clattering outside in the corridor and a smiling, dimpled woman slid back their door and said, "Anything off the cart, dears?"

Harry and Selena, both hadn't had any breakfast, leapt to their feet, but Ron's ears went pink again and he muttered that he'd brought sandwiches. Selena went out into the corridor. Selena or Harry had never had any money for candy with the Dursleys, and now that they had pockets rattling with gold and silver he was ready to buy as many Mars Bars as he could carry - but the woman didn't have Mars Bars. What she did have were Bettie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs. Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Licorice Wands, and a number of other strange things Selena had never seen in her life. Not wanting to miss anything, her and Harry got some of everything and paid the woman eleven silver Sickles and seven bronze Knuts.

Ron stared as Harry and Selena brought it all back in to the compartment and tipped it onto an empty seat. "Hungry, are you?"

"Starving, " said Harry, taking a large bite out of a pumpkin pasty.

"Already dead." Selena said, taking a look at the chocolate frogs.

Ron had taken out a lumpy package and unwrapped it. There were four sandwiches inside. He pulled one of them apart and said, "She always forgets I don't like corned beef. "

"Swap you for one of these, " said Harry, holding up a pasty. "Go on - - "

"You don't want this, it's all dry, " said Ron. "She hasn't got much time, " he added quickly, "you know, with five of us. "

"Just go on and have a pasty." Selena stated.

Ron being a little scared of Selena, moved slowly and grabbed a pastry.

"What are these?" Harry asked Ron, holding up a pack of Chocolate Frogs.

"They're not really frogs, are they?" Selena asked, curious still looking at the chocolate.

"No, " said Ron. "But see what the card is. I'm missing Agrippa."

"What is a Agrippa?" Selena asked.

"Oh, of course, you two wouldn't know -Chocolate Frogs have cards, inside them, you know, to collect -famous witches and wizards. I've got about five hundred, but I haven't got Agrippa or Ptolemy. "

Both Selena and Harry unwrapped their Chocolate Frogs and picked up the cards. One showed a man's face. He wore half-moon glasses, had a long, crooked nose, and flowing silver hair, beard, and mustache.

Underneath the picture was the name Albus Dumbledore.

"So this is Dumbledore!" said Harry.

"Don't tell me you'd never heard of Dumbledore!" said Ron.

"This says Agrippa." Selena said.

"Sweet can I have it?" Ron asked excitedly.

"Sure." Selena handed the card to him.

"Awesome!"

Harry turned over his card and read: ALBUS DUMBLEDORECURRENTLY HEADMASTER OF HOGWARTS Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel.

Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling. Harry turned the card back over and saw, to his astonishment, that Dumbledore's face had disappeared. "He's gone!"

"That's not possible-Harry he's gone!"

"Well, you can't expect him to hang around all day, " said Ron.

Ron's eyes strayed to the pile of Chocolate Frogs waiting to be unwrapped.

"Help yourself, " said Harry.

"But in, you know, the Muggle world, people just stay put in photos?"

Do they? What, they don't move at all?" Ron sounded amazed.

"weird!"

Harry stared as Dumbledore sidled back into the picture on his card and gave him a small smile. Ron was more interested in eating the frogs than looking at the Famous Witches and Wizards cards. Soon Selena and Harry together had not only Dumbledore and Morgana, but Hengist of Woodcroft, Alberic Grunnion, Circe, Paracelsus, and Merlin and Helga Hufflepuff. They finally tore their eyes away from the Druidess Cliodna, who was scratching her nose, to open a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.

"You both want to be careful with those, " Ron warned Selena and Harry. "When they say every flavor, they mean every flavor - you know, you get all the ordinary ones like chocolate and peppermint and marmalade, but then you can get spinach and liver and tripe. George reckons he had a booger-flavored one once."

Ron picked up a green bean, looked at it carefully, and bit into a corner. "Bleaaargh -see? Sprouts. "They had a good time eating the Every Flavor Beans. Harry got toast, coconut, baked bean, strawberry, curry, grass, coffee, sardine, and was even brave enough to nibble the end off a funny gray one Ron wouldn't touch, which turned out to be pepper. Selena got chocolate, toothpaste, cactus, steak, salt, and banana. The countryside now flying past the window was becoming wilder. The neat fields had gone. Now there were woods, twisting rivers, and dark green hills. There was a knock on the door of their compartment and the round-faced boy Selena and Harry had passed on platform nine and three quarters came in. He looked tearful. "Sorry, " he said, "but have you seen a toad at all?"

When they shook their heads, he wailed, "I've lost him! He keeps getting away from me!"

"He'll turn up, " said Harry. "Yes, " said the boy miserably.

Selena stood up. "I'll help you find him."

"Really." The boys eyes lighted up.

"Sure, let's go."

Selena bided Harry and Ron goodbye and in search of the toad.

Selena walked into a compartment with Fred and George were in.

"Have you guys seen a toad around here?"

"Sorry haven't seen one." Were all replies.

Selena stepped out of the compartment and saw a wondering toad. Selena got up to it and..."Got cha!" With the toad in her hands, Selena went to find the boy. She tapped him on the shoulder.

"I found your toad." Selena said, handing him the toad.

"Oh thanks, my names Neville."

"Selena,"

Just then a girl with bushy brown hair came up to them.

"Neville! I see that you found your toad, where was it? Oh who is this? I'm Hermione Granger." The girl said.

"Selena Black."

Hermione's eyes widened. "Selena Black! For real, it's so nice to meet you!"

"Please just think of me as a normal person. I don't even remember."

"Sure. Do you want to sit with us?" Neville said shyly.

"Okay, just let me tell my cousin."

Selena went off and told Harry that she would be sitting with someone else.

"Do any of you know what houses you are going to be in?" Selena said starting a conversation.

"Well my uncle said I would go into Hufflepuff." Neville muttered. "Hey it's not his choice to pick what house your be getting!" the outburst came from Selena.

"Thanks." Neville whispered.

Hermione left to check with the conductor and came back.

"You'd better hurry up and put your robes on, I've just been up to the front to ask the conductor, and he says we're nearly there."

Selena and Hermione went somewhere different and changed into their plain robes.

A voice echoed through the train: "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately. "

Selena felt nervous and knots in the pit of her stomach. Hermione could burst with excitement. The train slowed right down and finally stopped. People pushed their way toward the door and out on to a tiny, dark platform. Selena shivered in the cold night air. Selena ran over to Harry. Then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students, and Harry and Selena heard a familiar voice: "Firs' years! Firs' years over here! All right there, Harry?"Hagrid's big hairy face beamed over the sea of heads.

"C'mon, follow me - any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!"

Slipping and stumbling, they followed Hagrid down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was so65dark on either side of them that Harry thought there must be thick trees there. Nobody spoke much. Neville kept losing his toad, sniffed once or twice. "Ye' all get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec, " Hagrid called over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here. "There was a loud "Oooooh!"The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black take. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers.

"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. Harry and Ron were followed into their boat by two strangers. Selena had Neville and Hermione in her boat.

"Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid, who had a boat to himself. "Right then -FORWARD!"And the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Everyone was silent, staring up at the great castle overhead. It towered over them as they sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood. "Heads down!" yelled Hagrid as the first boats reached the cliff; they all bent their heads and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbor, where they clambered out onto rocks and pebbles. "Oy, you there! Is this your toad?" said Hagrid, who was checking the boats as people climbed out of them. "Trevor!" cried Neville blissfully, holding out his hands.

Then they clambered up a passageway in the rock after Hagrid's lamp, coming out at last onto smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle. They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, Oak front door. "Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?"Hagrid raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.

**AN: Sorry I didn't update this story sooner. Anyway remember to voting and also I need two characters. They can be boy or girl. Either from camp half-blood or Hogwarts or even you like this chapter? Till the next update...GOODBYE!**


	7. Chapter 7

The door swung open in an instant. A lanky, ravened-haired witch in emerald-green robes stood there. She had a very strict face and Selena's first thought was to not get on her bad side.  
"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid.  
"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here." She pulled the door wide.  
The entrance hall was so big you could have fit two whole Dursleys' houses in it.  
The stone were alit with flaming torches like the ones at Gringotts, the ceiling was too high to see the end of it, and the beautiful marble staircase facing them led to the upper floors. They followed Professor McGonagall across the stone floor. Selena tried to block out the hundreds of voices from the doorway to the right-the rest of the school must already be here, but Professor McGonagall showed the first years into a small, empty chamber off the hall. They crowded in, standing rather closer together than they would usually have done, peering around sweating bullets.  
"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall.  
"The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seat in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room"  
"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, which is a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house become your. The Sorting Ceremony will began shortly in a few minutes, in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."  
Her eyes lingered for a moment in Neville's cloak, which was strangely fastened under his left ear, and on Ron's smudged nose. Harry tried to flatten his hair. Selena was just leaning on the wall, cool as a cucumber.  
"I shall return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall.  
"Please wait quietly." With that she left the chamber.  
Selena went to where Hermione was standing, who was shaking in excitement. "Hey Mione, how are they there going to sort us in houses?"  
Hermione stop in her tracks. "Oh no what if it's a test! There gonna kill us Selena!" Hermione was whispering spells and random words.  
Selena grabbed Hermione's shoulders. "Mione, calm down. Everything is going to be alright, and even if something bad happens I'll protect you." Selena soothing words calmed Hermione down.  
Everyone's eyes were fixed on the door. Any minute now, Professor McGonagall will come back and lead them on a adventure.  
The something made Selena and Hermione jump a couple feet in the air and it looked like Harry did to. Several people screamed as well.  
"What the-?" many people gasped. About twenty ghosts had just streamed through the back wall Pearly-white and slightly transparent, they glided across the room talking to one another and hardly glancing at the first years. They seemed to be arguing. What looked like a fat little monk was saying:"Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance - -"  
"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost - I say, what are you all doing here?"A ghost wearing a ruff and tights had suddenly noticed the first years. Nobody answered.  
"New students!" said the Fat Friar, smiling around at them.  
"About to be Sorted, I suppose?"A few people nodded mutely. "Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" said the Friar.  
"My old house, you know."  
"Move along now, " said a sharp voice.  
"The Sorting Ceremony's about to start. "Professor McGonagall had returned. One by one, the ghosts floated away through the opposite wall. "Now, form a line, " Professor McGonagall told the first years, "and follow me. "  
Feeling Excited, Selena had Hermione walking next to her and a girl with Brown and hazel eyes on the side of her and Selena was bound to get her name. They walked out of the chamber, back across the hall, and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall.  
Harry and Selena had never even imagined such a strange and splendid place. It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in midair over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets.

At the top of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. Professor McGonagall led the first years up here, so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them. The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Dotted here and there among the students, the ghosts shone misty silver. Mainly to avoid all the staring eyes, Selena looked upward and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars. Hermione whispered to her, "Its bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in Hogwarts, A History. "It was hard to believe there was a ceiling there at all.  
Harry and Selena quickly looked down again as Professor McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of the stool she put a pointed wizard's hat. This hat was patched and frayed and extremely dirty. Petunia wouldn't have let it in the house.  
For a few seconds, there was complete silence. Then the hat twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth - and the hat began to sing:  
**You may not think I'm pretty, **  
**But don't judge on what you see,**  
**I'll eat myself if you can find A smarter hat than me. **  
**You can keep your bowlers black,**  
**Your top hats sleek and tall,**  
**For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat And I can cap them all.**  
**There's nothing hidden in your head The Sorting Hat can't see,**  
**So try me on and I will tell you Where you ought to be. **  
**You might belong in Gryffindor, **  
**Where dwell the brave at heart, **  
**Their daring, nerve,and chivalry Set Gryffindors apart;**  
**You might belong in Hufflepuff,**  
**Where they are just and loyal,**  
**Those patient Hufflepuffis are true And unafraid of toil; **  
**Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw, **  
**if you've a ready mind, **  
**Where those of wit and learning,**  
**Will always find their kind;**  
**Or perhaps in Slytherin You'll make your real friends, **  
**Those cunning folk use any means To achieve their ends. **  
**So put me on! Don't be afraid! **  
**.And don't get in a flap! **  
**You're in safe hands (though I have none)**  
**For I'm a Thinking Cap!"**  
The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four tables and then became quite still again.  
Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment.  
"When I call your name , you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said.  
"Abbott, Hannah!"  
A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, out on the hate, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. A moment's pause-"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat. The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table. Selena saw a ghost of the fat Friar waving merrily at her.  
"Black, Selena!"  
Selena walked up to the house feeling a little nervous she sat down.  
'_Well, well well, look what we have here a half-blood?' _  
_'Who said that?' _  
_'Me of course.'_  
_'Can you just sort me into a house...Please?'_  
_'Fine, let's see...Oh my gods you could be in any of the houses!'_  
_'Can you just sort me?'_  
'_The problem is that..well I can't choose.'_  
"All Of them!" The Hat screamed out. Confused Selena sat up and went over to the teachers dining table and just stood there. Mouthing for Professor McGonagall to go on.  
With everyone confused, Professor McGonagall shout out another name.  
"Bones, Susan!"  
"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat again, and Susan scuttled off to sit next to Hannah.  
"Boot, Terry!"  
"RAVENCLAW!"  
The table second from the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaws stood up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them. " Brocklehurst, Mandy" went to Ravenclaw too, but  
"Brown, Lavender" became the first new Gryffindor, and the table on the far left exploded with cheers;

Bulstrode, Millicent then became a Slytherin. Perhaps it was Harry's imagination, after all he'd heard about Slytherin, but he thought they looked like an unpleasant lot.  
"Chase, Annabeth!"  
A girl with blonde hair and grey eyes sat down and the hat called out, "RAVENCLAW!"

"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!"  
"HUFFLEPUFF!"  
"Finnigan, Seamus, "  
the sandy-haired boy next to Harry in the line, sat on the stool for almost a whole minute before the hat declared him a Gryffindor.  
"Granger, Hermione!"Hermione almost ran to the stool and jammed the hat eagerly on her head. "GRYFFINDOR!" shouted the hat.. Selena cheered for her.  
When Neville Longbottom, the boy who kept losing his toad, was called, he fell over on his way to the stool.  
The hat took a long time to decide with Neville. When it finally shouted, "GRYFFINDOR,"  
Neville ran off still wearing it, and had to jog back amid gales of laughter.  
"Malfoy, Draco!"  
Malfoy swaggered forward when his name was called and got his wish at once: the hat had barely touched his head when it screamed, "SLYTHERIN!" Malfoy went to join his friends Crabbe and Goyle, looking pleased with himself.  
There weren't many people left now. "Moon"  
"Nott, Emmaline!" The girl Selena saw standing next to her when the sorting happened was now walking over to the hat just like she did and the hat did was next was strange.  
"My gods not you to! Then she gets...ALL OF THEM?" This got all the teachers confused again. Emmaline didn't care and walked over to where Selena was and sat down.  
Professor called another 'Nott' and the rest went normal.  
"Parkinson" then a pair of twin girls, "Patil" and"Patil" then "Perks, Sally-Anne" and then, at last - "Potter, Harry!"  
As Harry stepped forward, whispers suddenly broke out like little hissing fires all over the hall. "Potter, did she say?"The Harry Potter?"The last thing Harry saw before the hat dropped over his eyes was the hall full of people craning to get a good look at him. Next second he was looking at the black inside of the hat. He waited. Hmm, " said a small voice in his ear. "Difficult. Very difficult.  
Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind either. There's talent, A my goodness, yes - and a nice thirst to prove yourself, now that's interesting... So where shall I put you?"  
Harry gripped the edges of the stool and thought, Not Slytherin, not Slytherin.  
"Not Slytherin, eh?" said the small voice. "Are you sure? You could be great, you know, it's all here in your head, and Slytherin will help you on the way to greatness, no doubt about that  
- no? Well, if you're sure - better be GRYFFINDOR!"Harry heard the hat shout the last word to the whole hall. He took off the hat and walked shakily toward the Gryffindor table. He was so relieved to have been chosen and not put in Slytherin, he hardly noticed that he was getting the loudest cheer yet.  
They lost track of who was being call when a Professor came over to them, he had shoulder length hair and blacker than black eyes.  
"Ms. Nott and Ms. Black please come and sit at a table and I'll lead you to your dorms.  
"Thank you...Professor..." Selena didn't know what to say next.  
"I'm Professor Snape." He said like he was a drone.  
Selena whispered to the girl, Emmaline. "So what should we do Emmaline?"  
"Just call me Emma."  
"Well then Emma your stuck with me."  
The two sat at the Gryffindor table chatting away with Hermione.  
Professor call the last few people and Albus Dumbledore had gotten to his feet. He was beaming at the students, his arms opened wide, as if nothing could please him more than to see them all there. "Welcome," he said  
'Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like a to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment Tweak! Thank you!"  
Emma and Selena begin to dig into their foods, having steak, frozen grapes (yes they have those) and fries.  
They finished eating and Selena said bided goodbye.  
They marched over to Snape.

**AN: The votes have ended and the winner is Artemis! With 15 votes! Athena was in second with 10 votes. Aphrodite in third with 4 votes. I know your wondering 'how are you gonging to do that? She's a virgin.' Don't worry I'll tell you when the time comes. I'll just say Athena helped with it *Hint, Hint***


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